Max Verstappen might be able to use a clause inserted into his mega-money Red Bull contract if he is serious about his threat to quit Formula 1.
Last week, the Dutchman expressed his displeasure at the latest move to tweak the race weekend format ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix later this month. Baku will host the first of six Sprint weekends this season – an innovation which Verstappen has already made his feelings perfectly clear about.
The Red Bull racer said last year: "I'm just not a big fan of it, because I feel like we don't really race. Okay, there are a few points to get, but you also know that you can't really risk it because the main race is where you really get the points."
In Azerbaijan, a new format is expected to be used which means there will only be one practice session for the entire weekend, on Friday morning. Qualifying for the race will be later that day, with the Sprint to take place on the Saturday as usual.
However, instead of a second practice session earlier on the Saturday, a second qualifying session is planned which will decide the starting order for the Sprint. Whatever happens in the short-form race, it will have no bearing on the grid for Sunday, which will have already been set.
Clearly annoyed about yet more changes to the format, Verstappen told Portugal's Sport TV last week: "I think that's way better for the excitement. I naturally, of course, hope that there won't be too many changes – otherwise I won't be around for too long."
Martin Brundle is not convinced that Verstappen would be willing to follow through on that threat. But if the 25-year-old is serious about walking away from F1 earlier than planned, there is a mechanism within his contract which be may be able to use in the future.
Speaking not long after Verstappen signed that bumper £40m per year deal, team adviser Helmut Marko revealed a scenario in which the deal could be voided. "If we experience a 'crash' like in 2014, when we had absolutely no chance against Mercedes on the engine side, then it's clear there is an escape clause," said the Austrian.
With Red Bull currently dominating the grid, that clause is not yet an option for Verstappen. But if Red Bull's car performance were to go through the floor in the next couple of years, it could present the Dutchman with the opportunity to walk away if that is really what he wishes to do.
