If Max Verstappen leaves Red Bull, a earthquake is triggered on the grid: Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes are waiting, while Hamilton, Norris and Russell are in the crosshairs. One move could change F1 forever.
The 2026 season has only just completed three races, but the driver market is already boiling: Max Verstappen, four-time world champion, has a contract with Red Bull, but his future is more uncertain than ever, frustration with the new cars, the team's poor results and the confirmed departure of his trusted engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, to McLaren at the end of the year have opened the door to a scenario that could completely reshape the 2027 grid.
If Verstappen decides to leave, the domino effect will be immediate and the range of scenarios that would open up is impressive:
Scenario A: Verstappen joins Ferrari. This is the option that the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf has put on the table. For it to happen, Lewis Hamilton, 41, would need to announce his retirement, but the Briton showed a recovery with his first podium in China, although in Japan the ghosts returned... if Hamilton hangs up his helmet, Ferrari would need a teammate for Charles Leclerc. Is there a better option than Verstappen? The Leclerc Verstappen duo would be, on paper, the most lethal in recent history. The problem? The ego battle.
Scenario B: Verstappen to McLaren. Zak Brown has an ace up his sleeve: Lambiase. "I only work with him, as soon as he quits, I'll quit too," Verstappen said in 2021. If the engineer moves to Woking, the Dutchman could follow him. That would leave McLaren with three top level drivers: Verstappen, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. But the question that arises is: who leaves the team? Norris is the current champion, but Piastri is the future, a headache for Andrea Stella.
Scenario C: Verstappen to Mercedes. Toto Wolff has never hidden his obsession with the Dutchman. If Verstappen decides to leave, the Mercedes boss would be lurking, but he has a solid duo with George Russell and young Kimi Antonelli. Would Wolff be willing to sacrifice one of them? Russell, the most experienced, could be the one chosen to leave.
If Verstappen leaves Red Bull, the energy drink team is left without its big star. The natural candidate would be Yuki Tsunoda, but they could also fish in the market for a driver like Carlos Sainz or even resurrect Daniel Ricciardo. The problem is that no name fills the void left by the Dutchman.
Whatever the outcome, one thing is certain: Verstappen's future will be the great axis of the 'Silly Season' and his decision will shake every corner of the grid. F1 is preparing for an earthquake.