Max Verstappen handed 'quite clear' verdict as Red Bull exit rumours intensify

Three-time Le Mans winner Allan McNish believes it is "quite clear" the F1 drivers' title will not be won by Max Verstappen, with rumours intensifying linking him to a Red Bull exit.  The four-time world champion finds himself 69 points adrift of championship leader Oscar Piastri with 12 rounds remaining, resulting in most ruling the Dutchman out.  It is expected to be an all-McLaren duel for the title between Piastri and Lando Norris, who are split by just eight points.  For Verstappen, the major question going into the second half of the season is whether it will mark his final races for Red Bull.  He has been linked to a shock move to Mercedes, whilst nobody within Red Bull or Verstappen's camp has ruled out the possibility. In McNish's view, Verstappen is seeing what options are available, with any team able to afford his services to be interested. "From a Max point of view, clearly Red Bull would like to keep hold of him," McNish said on an upcoming special episode of the RacingNews365 podcast. "I don't know the contract.  "I don't know what clauses he has. But clearly he's looking for opportunities around as well. At the moment, it's [Red Bull] not functioning in the way that he's had in the past to win another world championship.  "This year it's quite clear which direction that's going as long as they don't do anything stupid, which I would be surprised if they did.  "But from Max's point of view, someone of his performance and capability and roundedness and ability to deliver in pretty much every situation. I don't think there's many teams on the grid that wouldn't listen to him if he was interested."

F1 media 'pushing and shoving'

Speculation has increased over his future in recent weeks, with Verstappen having become frustrated with the volume of the questions surrounding where he will be next season. McNish believes the story has been pushed by the media, with the photos of the 27-year-old's pre-British Grand Prix media roundtable having gone viral due to the staggering attendance. "Right now, I also think there's a little bit of pushing and shoving going on in the media," added McNish.  "People walking into motorhomes and things like that maybe just to focus the minds at different points. "Whether, he moves or not it's going to be his decision at the end of the day, whether contractually he can or not, at different points." The special podcast episode featuring Allan McNish will go live on Monday 14th July across all platforms.