Max Verstappen flies to Cannes after a tense meeting with Red Bull leadership

Max Verstappen flew from Spa-La Sauvenière Airfield in Belgium to Cannes Mandelieu Airport on June 18, a 1-hour-32-minute hop in his Dassault Falcon 900EX. The flight lands him on the French Riviera, where he is based, the same week his future at Red Bull Racing has become the sport’s defining uncertainty.

The flight follows a series of movements that trace a driver in flux. On May 12, Verstappen’s jet flew from Amsterdam to Cranfield, England — near Mercedes’ headquarters — then to Münster, Germany, and back to Avignon, France, per flight data tracked by celebplanes. The pattern aligns with reporting from Dutch journalist Erik Van Haren, who told Telesport that Verstappen met Red Bull co-owner Chalerm Yoovidhya and chief executive Oliver Mintzlaff in Austria last week and did not offer a commitment to stay beyond 2026 [readmotorsport.com](https://readmotorsport.com/2026/06/16/red-bull-wants-one-commitment-from-max-verstappen-and-he-wont-give-it/).

Verstappen’s contract contains a performance-related exit clause that can be activated between August and October if he is outside the top two in the drivers’ standings by the summer break — a threshold he currently does not meet, sitting seventh. His agent, Raymond Vermeulen, confirmed to Sport BILD that a decision could come before the break [f1oversteer.com](https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/max-verstappens-agent-confirms-the-red-bull-f1-drivers-intentions-as-2027-exit-clause-nears/). For now, Verstappen’s refusal to say he is staying has left Red Bull’s leadership waiting for a sentence that remains unspoken.