Martin Brundle has warned Max Verstappen that his options for leaving Red Bull may be severely limited, with all three top teams already locked into settled driver line-ups that leave little room for the four-time F1 drivers' champion.
The Briton acknowledged Red Bull faces a significant challenge to retain Verstappen's services amid the team's struggles with the RB22, but suggested the Dutchman may find himself with nowhere to go even if he wants out.
Verstappen has been persistently linked with a move to Mercedes, with recent speculation suggesting the Silver Arrows as the most likely destination.
However, Toto Wolff has repeatedly ruled out such a move, stating complete satisfaction with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, with the former's contract extending through 2027.
Links to McLaren intensified following the announcement that Verstappen's longtime race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase will join the Woking squad as chief racing officer by 2028.
Yet McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has poured cold water on that prospect, with the team more than happy with both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
"I'm not sure it's that easy for Max to just jump ship at the moment," the former F1 driver said on Sky Sports F1.
"Mercedes has got two homegrown talents in their car, in Russell and Antonelli, and McLaren has set fair with a tremendous lineup that works; it gels very much.
"Ferrari with Leclerc and Hamilton. So if somebody springs out of one of those cars, then there's a slot for Max, but the teams can't if they're contracted, and won't want to boot out some great drivers and great driver lineups; and if you're going to leave Red Bull, for performance only, it's going to have to be one of those three teams I just mentioned."
Brundle noted that Red Bull's performance trajectory will be crucial in determining Verstappen's thinking, with upgrades expected to arrive imminently.
"The power unit has been pretty impressive, actually, so the car itself has been struggling a bit," Brundle explained.
"We'll see again. Red Bull will have some big changes this weekend [at the Miami Grand Prix], so Max will want to see through the midseason that they're on top of these regulations, they're on top of the car."
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