McLaren on Max Verstappen: ‘We’d need a third car for him’

There may be no concrete evidence that Max Verstappen is seriously considering joining McLaren for the 2027 Formula 1 season, but team principal Andrea Stella failed to unequivocally deny it on Saturday at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Reports of mere informal talks between Verstappen and McLaren emerged at the Austrian Grand Prix, which was acknowledged by the team, but the rumours have only swelled since then. At Spa-Francorchamps, the gossip was also fuelled by Verstappen’s father Jos and manager Raymond Vermeulen visiting the McLaren hospitality on Friday, which turned out to be related to McLaren junior Dries van Langendonck, now a Verstappen protege.

Oscar Piastri has been tipped as the McLaren driver who might have to make way for Verstappen, prompting a vehement denial from his manager Mark Webber on racer.com.

A vehement denial is what we didn’t get from Stella in his post-qualifying media session at Spa-Francorchamps, when he was asked if he could ‘cut short the gossip’ by confirming there were no talks between McLaren representatives and Verstappen.

“Well, I said before that we talk about the four-time world champion,” the Italian replied. “It will be always a fascinating opportunity, but we need to introduce the third car. So you don’t have to talk to me. We have to take a higher political level, and when we’ll be in condition to do so, then we will consider this option.”

Stella’s answer was obviously tongue-in-cheek. There are no known plans for third cars in Formula 1, so this was a way to subtly reaffirm his confidence towards both Piastri and Lando Norris in a public setting. But he had an opportunity to shut the rumours down as much as was possible in his situation – and he consciously decided not to.

The McLaren option was also brought up to Verstappen back in Austria, and his answer had been unsurprisingly coy: “I’m not going to involve myself in that. I’ve said what I wanted to say already before. If I’m doing something new or something that changes, you will hear it from me, not from someone else writing it. I just focus on the job that I have with my team.”

This was not a new stance from the Dutchman. For years now, he has refrained from unnecessarily answering questions about his future, unless he had a message he wanted to send out to the world.

So, when press conference host Tom Clarkson brought up the topic on Thursday at Spa-Francorchamps, Verstappen was defiant as ever, despite the interviewer’s unyielding perseverance.

TC: “Let’s talk off track. There’s been yet more speculation about your future in recent days and recent weeks. Is there any update you can give us?”
MV: “No.”
TC: “And what do you make of the speculation?”
MV: “Nothing.”
TC: “And do you have a date in mind?”
MV: “Nope. There’s nothing to say from my side.”
TC: “So, full commitment to Red Bull…” (cut off)
MV: “I said there’s nothing to say.”

Whether Verstappen decides to leave Red Bull will remain unclear for some time. The Dutchman is under contract through 2028, but unlike last year, his current seventh position in the standings means he might be able to use a potential exit clause to go and check out if the grass is greener elsewhere – not that Milton Keynes and Woking have vastly different climates…

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– The Motorsport.com Team

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