Max Verstappen’s Formula 1 future is likely to be one of the widely discussed topics in the paddock this season.
Despite winning his fourth consecutive title with Red Bull and recording one of the most dominant seasons in the sport’s history in 2023, doubts still remain about whether Max Verstappen will see out his contract.
Verstappen’s current deal runs until the end of 2028 but his father Jos hasn’t hidden his concerns about the direction that Red Bull are going in.
Team principal Christian Horner has lost Adrian Newey to Aston Martin, Jonathan Wheatley to Sauber and has seen Rob Marshall help McLaren produce a constructors’ championship-winning car.
McLaren appear to have the fastest car heading into the 2025 season which will concern Verstappen given the issues Red Bull ran into last year.
It was his superiority, rather than the dominance of the RB20, that earned him a fourth title and unlike last season, he won’t have the same opportunity to build up a decent haul of points before Red Bull’s rivals get their acts together.
Journalist and broadcaster James Allen was in Bahrain for pre-season testing and talking to various people in the paddock.
On his podcast – James Allen on F1 – he admitted that Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is beginning to get his hopes up that a deal to sign Verstappen could be on the cards.
Toto Wolff ‘increasingly confident’ he can sign Max Verstappen from Red Bull
Allen was reflecting on pre-season testing and explained something he had heard in the paddock in Bahrain about Verstappen’s future.
While Wolff made it clear when they announced Andrea Kimi Antonelli that he was always his first choice to replace Lewis Hamilton, Verstappen had been widely discussed as an option for Mercedes throughout last season.
Adding to this, Allen explained: “It’s interesting you should mention the threat from Max Verstappen, because I clearly got the impression during the Bahrain test that Toto [Wolff] is increasingly confident that he’s got a chance of getting Verstappen, if not at the end of this year, possibly next year.
READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend
“And so one of those two drivers is going to have to make way, which is either Russell or Antonelli.
“So, I think there’s always that in the back of both of their minds and they’ll obviously have to find a place if it is Antonelli that has to make way, they’ll have to find a place for him somewhere else.
“So it’s interesting to see how that how that situation evolves.
“But yeah, Toto, as you say, is very, very clear that Antonelli has been on the radar for some time for him, even if he was talking to Verstappen.”
Max Verstappen’s availability could be detrimental to George Russell’s F1 championship hopes
If Wolff believes he can sign Verstappen, then that leaves Antonelli and George Russell vulnerable to being replaced.
Mercedes have invested time and energy into both drivers, but the idea of Verstappen and Russell being teammates doesn’t sit well.
Both drivers will want to be the number one and Verstappen and Russell currently don’t see eye to eye after the feud that started during last year’s Qatar Grand Prix.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Mercedes F1 CEO and team principal Toto Wolff
Mercedes may therefore decide to stick with Antonelli and partner him with Verstappen, with Russell’s contract expiring at the end of 2025.
Horner has suggested he may be interested in signing Russell which would be almost as surprising as Verstappen leaving Red Bull.
If Verstappen left and a straight swap didn’t take place, the furore created by Hamilton joining Ferrari would be repeated once again in the driver’s market.
Leave feedback about this