With just three seats remaining confirmation for 2025, the Formula One driver market is winding down as the teams enjoy their summer break. Carlos Sainz deciding on Williams from 2025 has freed up Sauber/Audi to pursue an alternative choice.
Yesterday TJ13 reported a surprise new name on the Swiss based team’s wish list as rookie Gabriel Bortoleto is now reportedly ‘a possible teammate’ for Hulkenberg after impressing in F2. Bortoleto is currently second in the championship behind Red Bulls junior Issac Hadjar.
Yet Valtteri Bottas remains the favourite to see Suaber through the transition to Audi. Alpine are considering Mick Schumacher and Mick Doohan as replacements for Esteban Ocon who is on his way Haas F1. Which leaves Mercedes who most paddock observers believe will promote their academy driver Kimi Antonelli, yet top brass within the team will make a last ditch effort to persuade Max Verstappen to join their ranks.
Wolff criteria now being met
In June when asked about the likelihood of Verstappen joining the silver arrows, Toto Wolff appeared to advise the world champion to steer clear until such a time as Mercedes have a competitive F1 car.
“We need two [others] to crash at the front to win at the moment,” Wolff told assembled media. “I think we still need to look at ourselves and say: ‘What can we do in order to have a car that is able to race with these two at the front and do it more regularly?’
“And I think this is a moment where we can say that we can be a port or destination for the best drivers, including Max.”
Of course Wolff was referring to the collision in Austria between Verstappen and Norris which handed George Russell the win. Since then Mercedes have claimed victory at Silverstone and last time out in Belgium and have established themselves ahead of Ferrari as Red Bull’s closest rival alongside McLaren.
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Mercedes top brass prepare ‘war chest’
Founder of the Silverstone F1 team now known as Aston Martin, Eddie Jordan reveals, “In Monaco there was a meeting between Toto, Jim Ratcliffe of INEOS, and Ola Källenius, who is the chief executive of Mercedes,” the Irishman claimed on the Formula For Success podcast.
“Together they put together a fighting fund to cover off the possibility of a salary requirement for Max,” added Jordan stating that Verstappen had been made aware of the meeting’s outcome.
“Surely that gives some indication of the steely commitment from Toto and his team, to actually get Max on board at some stage? We shouldn’t be surprised to see Max in a Mercedes in the coming years”, concluded the man who is also the manager of Adrian Newey.
Ex-F1 driver and TV pundit David Coulthard believes Verstappen is not motivated by cash: “Max is the highest-earning driver in Formula 1. Maybe that will swing to Lewis at Ferrari, I don’t know. It’s not all about the money, it’s about the performance.
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Driver salaries excluded from cost cap
“You can put together a fighting fund but all the money being spent on the driver isn’t being spent on the car,” added the Scotsman.
Of course in today’s F1 the driver salaries are not a trade off for the top teams between spending on the car or on personnel because under the FIA financial regulations, the spending cap the F1 teams must adhere to each season do not include the remuneration the drivers receive.
This was of course not the case when Jordan was running his team and he explains how he had a preference for younger drivers given the made less damage to the team’s budget.
“I always wanted young drivers because they were better value,” he insisted. I would have gone for Oscar Piastri…”
F1 boss says Audi making a “fundamental mistake”
Coulthard questions Mercedes move
Much was made earlier this season of an exit clause in Max Verstappen’s contract which would allow him to leave the team before his contract expires in 2028. However, Dr. Helmut Marko has since signed a deal to remain with the world champions until at least the end of 2026 and simultaneously the loophole allowing Max departure has been closed.
Coulthard recognises the window for Mercedes’ efforts to snatch Max from under Red Bull’s nose may well have closed. “He’s comfortable there, happy there. As we’ve seen with Lewis, just because you decide to go somewhere else, it doesn’t mean you’re going somewhere better.
“At the moment he decided to go to Ferrari, they were stronger than Mercedes. Now, Mercedes are stronger than Ferrari.
“You are rolling the dice for where the future performance will be,” said the ex-McLaren and Red Bull driver. Coulthard goes on to note how F1 goes in cycles and with the exception of the Hamilton years while Mercedes were dominant, teams rise to the top and fall away again in time.
New power unit regs a pull for Max?
“When teams are winning, they look at each other nodding – ‘how great are we? We’ve achieved our technical targets…’ Then that same team – whether it be Red Bull after the Sebastian Vettel years when the focus was on the engine – it’s easy to point a finger at something outside of your control.”
“At McLaren if we had issues, Ron Dennis was comfortable saying it was the Mercedes, because he didn’t build the engine.
“Within these marriages of convenience, there is always finger pointing. After success comes a lack of success. People say ‘I was part of a winning team, which one is getting it wrong?’”
Mercedes were hoping the spectre of the new F1 power unit regulations coming in 2026 would impress Verstappen given their utter dominance when the V6 turbo hybrid powertrains were introduced in 2014.
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Its Red Bull or Mercedes
However there are financial restrictions this time on what the teams can spend on R&D so Mercedes don’t have the $1bn budget available as they did in 2014.
Despite this Coulthard believes this may still be be a pull for Max: “He could go to Mercedes. He can’t go to Ferrari for the next two years unless Charles or Lewis get fired, or they walk away, because they have firm contracts.
“Logically that only leaves a move to Mercedes. Toto has been open – his style of management is to say ‘yes, he’s a target’.
“McLaren have two brilliant drivers, two No1s which will become complicated,” concludes The Channel 4 presenter who maintains a move for Verstappen to Mercedes remains on the cards.
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Perez “mentally broken” says..
F1 Expert’s Grim Assessment that Perez “Mentally Broken”. Sergio Perez has been granted another opportunity to complete the 2024 Formula 1 season with Red Bull, despite a series of underwhelming performances. The Red Bull management has decided to defer any significant team changes until the end of the season. However, one Formula 1 expert already sees the Mexican driver at his lowest point.
At the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday, there was a fleeting moment when it seemed Sergio Perez might have turned a corner. He delivered a strong lap, securing second place on the grid at the famed Ardennes circuit. This performance appeared to signal the breakthrough Perez had been seeking. However, the race itself was disastrous for Checo… READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
Like I had said before the car is the star.
WRC advertised a 10 second gearbox and as the promotion was by Red bull racing and this was in 2022 , so why doesn’t people listen to me.
Now with Sergio Perez his car doesn’t have the 10 second gearbox fitted.