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Max Verstappen's future is always an interesting topic. This season hasn't been ideal for the Dutchman, raising questions about what lies ahead for him. Although the 27-year-old has often emphasized his desire to be part of a winning team and lead it, it's hard to expect that he can achieve great things if Red Bull doesn't make changes soon. This puts additional pressure on them.
For several months, Mercedes, led by Toto Wolff, has been “flirting” with Verstappen, but it seems without success. Toto has never hidden his desire to have the Dutch driver on his team. However, he knows it’s unlikely that Verstappen would easily agree to join a rival team.
Toto Wolff openly called for Max Verstappen to join Mercedes this year, but now that George Russell and debutant Andrea Kimi Antonelli have been confirmed as their lineup for 2025, he has decided to stop flirting with the Dutch driver.
“We are stepping back,” Wolff said to Motorsport about his approach to Verstappen's future.
“I think I expressed this earlier, and Max shares a similar view: you have to believe in your drivers and your team. You have to give them as much support as you can to be successful. Only if things really go wrong will you consider other options.”
Wolff described such a relationship as flirting without a chance of success. He doesn’t want to be the person trying over and over again, knowing how difficult it is to accomplish. The Mercedes chief acknowledged that his team holds certain values and has no intention of straying from them. Mercedes has been a dominant team for years until Red Bull recently took the lead again.
“For me, it’s like flirting around while trying to make your relationship work. That doesn’t work; I won’t flirt around.
I would only ask for a conversation if I wanted a change or was thinking about it. It’s the same on his side. I think we are pretty aligned in our values about this.”
Verstappen's contract with Red Bull is valid until the end of 2028, but their current performance fuels rumors of an earlier departure, and there is no shortage of interest in the triple champion. Besides Mercedes, there is frequent speculation about a move to Aston Martin, where Max will reunite with familiar faces like Adrian Newey and Honda in 2026.
Jos Verstappen reacts
Departures from Red Bull have caused frustration and anger, raising questions about what might happen in the coming weeks. It seems that Red Bull is experiencing a sort of blockage that needs to be addressed soon. Jos Verstappen is one of the individuals who has chosen to speak out about the recent events.
Jos Verstappen warned earlier this year about possible departures from the team.
Max's father criticized team principal Christian Horner, saying the team could collapse if he stays in charge. Departures from Red Bull announced this year include:
May 1: Adrian Newey, chief technical officer since 2006, to Aston Martin.
August 1: Jonathan Wheatley, sporting director since 2006, to Audi.
September 24: Will Courtenay, chief strategist since 2005, to McLaren.
Jos Verstappen: It's too many people now [leaving]
"Yes, this is what I warned about", the Dutchman told Motorsport.
"The team then says: 'Oh, it doesn't matter, we have someone else [who we can put on that position].'
But it's too many people now [leaving]. And Max gets questions about it every time and so on. So yeah, I think it's just not good, what's happening at the moment."
He stressed that Horner downplays these departures. After a strong start, Red Bull has fallen to second place in the championship, needing to defend against Ferrari. Max Verstappen's 52-point lead over Lando Norris isn’t a guarantee of victory.
Though he’s under contract until 2028, it’s known that in F1, contracts can be broken, and teams like Mercedes and Aston Martin are eyeing the three-time champion.
It seems that there are many issues within the team, and some moves need to be made to truly get things back on track. While we can’t say the situation is catastrophic, as the Austrian team is still in the lead, there are strong signs that this could change in the near future.
McLaren, Mercedes, and others are waiting for their chance to rise to the top, eager to finally dethrone Red Bull. Lando Norris currently seems like the closest contender, but it remains to be seen if the young Brit has the capacity and strength to pull off a major upset. The start of the season promised that things would look a bit different.
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