Max Verstappen won't 'close the door' on a future switch to Mercedes, feels F1 insider

Ralf Schumacher felt that Max Verstappen would not close the door on a potential move from Red Bull to Mercedes. The Dutch driver's future with the Austrian team has been contentious at best for the last year or so. In 2025, the reporting around it has varied from one extreme to another, depending entirely on the kind of race weekend the pair has.

On paper, Verstappen is signed with Red Bull until the end of 2028. He's also coming off a win in Imola, where he beat his McLaren rivals with the help of the performance provided by the car. At the same time, the 2026 F1 regulations are a major reset, where a new power unit is being introduced.

The new power unit could shake things up completely, and the reports of Mercedes once again nailing the power unit regulations have led to comparisons to the 2014 F1 regulations, where the German squad began an 8-year championship run.

Talking about Max Verstappen's future, Ralf Schumacher felt that the Dutch driver would stick with Red Bull until the end, even though he wouldn't close the door on a potential move to Mercedes. On Sky Deutschland’s Backstage Boxengasse podcast, he said:

“Yes, well, the door won’t be closed. First of all, Max Verstappen naturally wants to back the team to the end, that’s quite clear and we’ll have to wait and see. I mean, he’s achieved all his successes with Red Bull, he owes a lot to Red Bull, and he’s the type of person who I think would stick with it to the end if it were possible."

He added:

"Nevertheless, he’ll have to wait and see. The next few races will really go on like this, because the development was stagnant and the car was difficult to drive at times, and a big problem. But it’s difficult to judge."

Max Verstappen confesses to a conversation with Mercedes boss

In a recent interview with the Telegraph, Max Verstappen shared that he had a chat with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff about his future. The Dutch driver is affiliated with Red Bull for now and has a contract until 2028, but the revelation certainly turned a few heads.

Talking about his meeting with Wolff, Verstappen said, via PlanetF1:

"I think it was our first real conversation since 2021. We corrected a few things from that year. We also talked a little bit about the future perspective. But for me it’s not just about F1. I do a lot of things with Red Bull."

He added:

"Everyone always thinks that decisions about my future are purely based on what’s going on here in this world, but I’m working on a lot more. There’s more than ‘project F1’. That’s not something that every team can just offer."

The Dutch driver is now third in the championship with only a 22-point deficit to championship leader Oscar Piastri.