McLaren won’t rule out Verstappen as Red Bull steps up talks

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has declined to completely rule out a move for Max Verstappen as speculation about the Dutchman’s future continued throughout the Austrian GP weekend.

Red Bull arrived at its home race under intense pressure to convince Verstappen to stay, amid reports of several high-level meetings involving his management.

According to the Austrian newspaper Osterreich, Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen met "several times" during the weekend with Red Bull’s senior leadership, including major shareholder Mark Mateschitz, to discuss the team’s future direction.

The report said Red Bull chief executive Oliver Mintzlaff also visited Dutch driver on Saturday in another effort to convince the four-time world champion to stay.

However, the Verstappen camp is reportedly still unwilling to make any decision for now.

Meanwhile, Brown joked that McLaren is perfectly happy with its current driver pairing, while leaving the door ever so slightly open. "I’d be very surprised if Lando or Oscar left for another team," he said.

"They’re very happy, we have contracts, but even without contracts, we’re very happy with them.

"If, for some strange reason, someone slips on a banana peel while getting out of the bath, then, of course, Max is a four-time world champion."

Although Oscar Piastri has been most heavily linked with a possible Red Bull switch, Lando Norris also praised Red Bull’s performance after its major Austrian upgrade.

"I mean, they’re so competitive, I don’t think you need be surprised about that," Norris said.

"It’s still Red Bull, it’s still an incredible team and it’s not like they were bad before."

Former Red Bull driver Robert Doornbos believes the pressure on the Austrian team was obvious throughout the weekend.

"There was a secret conversation in Austria last week, where Max met the big boss of Red Bull, the entire organisation," he told Ziggo Sport.

"The team wants to keep him within the ranks at all costs. Of course, they want to do everything they can to secure Max for the future.

"That is only possible if he is not driving around in the midfield. Well, now he just competed for the win, so I think everyone at Red Bull can breathe again."