Red Bull Racing is under pressure, it can be said. They have to perform well Max Verstappen to keep with them. Helmut Marko has the opposite F1-Insider confirmed that a performance clause is included in the contract.
Verstappen has been part of the Red Bull family for many years and is very loyal to the team. However, the Dutchman is also a racer in heart and soul and wants nothing more than to become world champion in Formula 1. In recent years, the Red Bull car simply has not performed well enough for the world title and so questions arose about a possible escape clause for it. the driver. Verstappen’s contract will run until 2023, but from 2022 there will in principle be two seats available Mercedes. Reason enough to get the rumor mill running again. Marko lifts the veil on the special clause.
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“Yes, there is a performance clause,” he confirms. “I don’t want to go into details, but it more or less says that Max can compete on his own merits for race wins and the world championship. If he can, his contract will be extended. If not, he would be free.” But what exactly does that ‘on its own merits’ mean? According to F1-Insider this is about the time that the Red Bull car of Verstappen is allowed to drive behind the fastest car on average. In this case it is of course the Mercedes. The time is about three tenths of a second per lap, which means that Red Bull still has to improve considerably.
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Last year the gap was horrible Lewis Hamilton namely on average about half a second, which means that Red Bull has not complied with the performance clause. Should that be the case again this year, then Verstappen is free to go. However, Marko believes it doesn’t have to come that far. “That is our goal and I believe in it, not only because of Max, but because it is in our DNA that we want to win. We are on track and I think we can meet the clause,” said the 77-year-old Red Bull. -counselor.
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