Max Verstappen urged to take salary cut to quit Red Bull

Seven-time grand prix winner Juan Pablo Montoya has suggested Max Verstappen should take a pay cut in an effort to link up with Mercedes next year.

Verstappen has consistently been linked with an exit from the Red Bull squad across the last 12 months amid its slow decline down the F1 pecking order.

The Dutchman has won once in the opening four rounds of the new campaign and suffered a painful event in Bahrain last time out, taking the chequered flag in sixth place - matching his lowest classification from the entire 2024 campaign.

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has confirmed an exit clause exists in the Dutchman's contract, with recent reports suggesting he can trigger it if he is lower than third in the standings later in the year.

Verstappen is currently hovering around the reported threshold as he sits third in the drivers' standings, but only six points ahead of Mercedes' George Russell.

Should he look to seek a new squad for 2026, Montoya has highlighted he could look to take a pay cut to negotiate a late exit.

“If I was Max, I would be concerned,” Montoya told Plejmo.

“Six months ago, he could have asked for any amount of money to go anywhere and people would have paid it. 

“The way Red Bull is running right now, he could go to Toto and say, ‘Look, pay me less than you had to pay me, but let me drive your car’. Is he willing to do that?”

'Insane' Verstappen salary demand to take a hit - Montoya

Verstappen is believed to be the highest-paid driver on the F1 grid, having enjoyed a long streak of success with Red Bull across the last handful of years.

However, the Milton Keynes-based advantage over the field has been eliminated with McLaren commencing the new season in the strongest fashion, winning three out of the opening four grands prix.

As Red Bull has slipped back in the competitive order, Montoya highlighted it will hurt Verstappen's negotiation demands.

“It’s the beginning of the end of Max Verstappen at Red Bull,” he said. “For sure it is. But in a way, Max has been pretty blessed with being in the best car.

“But this year is a bit of a reality check. Max wants to win, but if the Red Bull is not competitive, the negotiation is very different.

“I think the negotiation a year ago before he re-signed with Red Bull when Toto [Wolff] was very outspoken about signing Max, was very different to what it would be now.

“The number was an insane number. McLaren also reached out to Max to see how much it was before they re-signed Piastri, and the number was insane. 

“So, at some point Max needs to make a decision, ‘Do I want to try to be in the best car, do I want to make a ton of money?’”