Max Verstappen transfer rumors intensify after Helmut Marko meeting with Jos Verstappen. Verstappen exit rumors gather pace after Helmut Marko joins private Amsterdam meeting.

Verstappen future: Marko reappears as Max’s mentor is spotted with Jos Verstappen and his manager

A secret meeting took place in Amsterdam involving Jos Verstappen, Max Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen, and former Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko. It is not difficult to imagine what the main topic of conversation might have been.

Max Verstappen’s future under the spotlight

In Formula 1, all it takes to ignite the driver market is a negotiation, a few carefully chosen words or, sometimes, simply a photograph. That appears to be the case with Max Verstappen’s future. The Dutchman is reportedly furious with Red Bull following the latest rear wing issue that sent him into the gravel trap at Silverstone, and he is said to be seriously evaluating his future with the Milton Keynes-based team.

According to a photograph shared by journalist Erik van Haren—who is widely regarded as being very close to the Verstappen family—the four-time Formula 1 World Champion may indeed be exploring his options. The image shows Jos Verstappen, Max Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen and Helmut Marko, the Austrian who has long been considered the Dutch driver’s mentor and almost a second father to him, meeting together in Amsterdam.

“What was discussed there is not known,” van Haren wrote on X.

Nevertheless, it is not difficult to imagine that Max Verstappen’s future dominated the conversation, given the presence of his manager and Helmut Marko. Although Marko is no longer part of Red Bull, he has maintained strong connections throughout the Formula 1 paddock and could be well placed to advise the reigning World Champion on the best move for the 2027 season.

Every Formula 1 team would be eager to sign “Super Max,” but Mercedes and McLaren are widely considered the two most realistic destinations should he decide to leave Red Bull. The four-time World Champion is expected to be able to activate the exit clause in his contract—which currently runs until the end of 2028—because he will no longer be mathematically capable of reaching second place in the Drivers’ Championship before the summer break.