The never ending saga of Verstappen moving to Mercedes has been afforded somewhat of a break since the bombshell news that Christian Horner had been sacked from Red Bull Racing. Yet with George Russell likely to be badgered again this weekend over why he hasn’t received a contract extension from the silver arrows team, the matter remains close to the headlines.
The tale to date began last season when in an attempt to destabilise his rivals, Toto Wolff made a open offer to Max Verstappen to join his Mercedes team. He further admitted talks had taken place between the Verstappen camp and himself over the summer break, although concluded any move would now be in 2026 and not earlier.
Knowing how important Dr. Helmut Marko is to Verstappen, Wolff even made the 81 year old Austrian an offer to join the Mercedes team. While rumours swirled in Saudi Arabia that Dr. Marko may be suspended for a suspected part in the leak of confidential documents, the Mercedes boss said cheekily: “Marko could take the old place of Niki Lauda at Mercedes. We are missing our old mascot anyway. Then we’ll just take Helmut! He fits in terms of age. He doesn’t have a red cap, but he can come to us.”
Russell’s lack of contract fans the flames
Indeed Mercedes went on to announce Lewis Hamilton’s replacement to be Kimi Antonelli just after the summer break and elected to take up the second year on George Russell’s contract for 2025. Yet with Red Bull having their worst start to a year since 2020, the future of Max Verstappen has been again called into question.
Verstappen has won just two Grand Prix across the first half of this year and whilst he lies behind the McLaren drivers in the championship, the deficit now is a whopping 69 points. Wit no sign that the papaya liveried tea is set to falter, both the constructors’ and drivers’ titles appear lost to Red Bull and Max this season.
With Red Bull unable to deliver a championship worthy car to their star driver, the rumblings of Verstappen making a move have continued from weekend to weekend. Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that Verstappen consistently refuses to categorically state, he will remain with the Red Bull Racing team into next year.
Were Mercedes to sign Max Verstappen for 2026, clearly one of their drivers wild have to make way. George Russell has ably led the charge for the team this year, scoring almost three quarters of the team’s points as Kimi Antonelli finds his feet in an F1 car.
Wolff determined to keep Antonelli
Yet Wolff has an emotional attachment to the young Italian driver, whom he believes is a future world champion in the making. Toto had the opportunity to sign Max Verstappen back in 2015, but had experienced drivers Nico Rosberg ad Lewis Hamilton leading the charge for the silver arrows.
Wolff suggested to the Verstappen camp they allow Mercedes to sponsor Max in GP2 for a season. But in swooped Dr. Helmut Marko, offering the young Dutch driver a seat in the Toro Rosso team. Having lost out on Verstappen, Wolff was determined not to do so again with Kimi Antonelli who has benefitted from driving a top three car in his rookie F1 season.
Regular reports of an imminent move by Verstappen to Mercedes persisting again together with the fact George Russell hasn’t already been snapped up by the silver arrows for 2026 have fanned the flames of paddock speculation.
Now the Auto Web publication reveals the matter is more complicated than at first sight, given the CEO of Mercedes-Benz, Ola Kallenius has been actively involved with the Verstappen discussions behind the scenes. It claims that he is the driving force behind the decision to sign Verstappen, whilst team principal Toto Wolff is unconvinced.
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The report claims the relationship between the Verstappen camp soured during the titanic struggle between Lewis Hamilton and the current world champion. There were regular ‘on track’ incidents between the pair, resulting in accusations flying back and forth between the Mercedes Boss and the Red Bull camp, something Wolff does not believe is completely resolved.
His preference is then to retain the current driver lineup for next user, but is coming under significant pressure from his masters in Stuttgart. Since 2021 it is claimed the relationship between Jos Verstappen and Toto Wolff has improved, although it states it has been limited to “short social interactions in the paddock.”
However, “the trust between the two has not been fully rebuilt,” which is claimed to be the reason Wolff has been hesitant to sign Max Verstappen. Toto Wolff is a one third shareholder in the Mercedes AMG team, with the German auto manufacturer owning another third of the team.
Yet with Stuttgart funding the Mercedes High Performance Powertrains division in Brackley, Wolff would not wish to rock the boat were Ola Kallenius insist he sign the current world champion.
Russell’s Mercedes drive in peril
This is the explanation for George Russell having not yet been given a contract extension beyond the end of this year, something he clearly deserves. This years summer break will see the driver lineups for 2026 honed if not completely finalised, although after the silly season of 2024, sparked by Lewis Hamilton quitting Mercedes, the options are few and far between.
Alpine have yet to confirm their second driver alongside Pierre Gasly, whilst new entrant Cadillac have yet to declare either of their two drivers. Only Max Verstappen has a contract in the Red Bull organisation and of course Mercedes themselves have two seats to be confirmed.
Verstappen’s failure to commit to Red Bull Racing for 2026, is the current cork in the bottle given the potential fallout from such a move. Russell may be forced to choose between Red Bull, Cadillac or Alpine and with Horner gone it would be easier for Red Bull to convince Mercedes number one driver to join the team.
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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.
