Max Verstappen is reportedly on the brink of a sensational switch to Mercedes, with Sky Sport Italia claiming the reigning world champion has already said yes to team boss Toto Wolff following “concrete negotiations.”
According to the Italian broadcaster, after Lewis Hamilton’s bombshell transfer to Ferrari, Formula 1 is on the verge of another seismic shift. But while Wolff has confirmed the talks, Red Bull’s top brass has dismissed the speculation as “noise”.
The deal, while not yet board-approved on the Mercedes side according to Sky, could see Verstappen don silver in time for the 2026 regulation overhaul – a move that would blow the driver market wide open.
It’s the latest twist in a saga that has simmered for months, fueled by Verstappen’s public frustrations, Red Bull’s fluctuating performance, and Mercedes’ future driver dilemma.
Toto Wolff, never one to shy away from media intrigue, confirmed during the Austrian Grand Prix weekend that Mercedes has been in dialogue with Verstappen and his management. However, the Austrian stopped short of declaring anything imminent.
“You need to be respectable towards the stakeholders in all of that process – the organisation, the drivers, everybody,” Wolff told reporters at the Red Bull Ring.
“You need to understand the way forward. I don't want to be sadistic in letting a driver wait or not taking any decisions when it should be taken.”
©Mercedes
Wolff stressed that Mercedes would confirm its 2026 driver line-up during the upcoming summer break, with current drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli still in the mix.
“I feel we are in a good space, we're [in] June, there are lots of discussions around,” he continued. “I've been open with it, transparent. And at a certain stage, in the next couple of months, until the summer break, everything is going to be done.”
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Still, in an interview with Sky Sports F1 later on in the weekend, Wolff attempted to downplay the growing speculation.
“I think when you look at the situation we have with Kimi and George, we have a perfect line-up that we very much enjoy and that we believe is the future,” he said.
“But, at the same time, there is a four-time world champion that needs to decide what he is going to do in the future and that is just, as a team principal, you need to see where that is going.
“But I think I give it a very little probability that it's going to happen.”
That probability, however slim, appears to be enough to set the paddock alight.
In Austria, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was quick to shut down the swirling speculation, insisting that Verstappen remains firmly committed through 2028 and brushing off the reports as media static.
“It’s a lot of noise,” Horner told Sky Sports F1. “I think Max gets quite annoyed by it.
“We’re very clear with the contract that we have with Max until 2028. So anything is entirely speculative that is said, but we tend not to pay too much attention to it.”
Horner also took a moment to fire a subtle shot across the garage divide, referencing the uncertain future of Mercedes driver George Russell, whose contract expires at the end of this season.
“I can imagine that George is frustrated he hasn’t been given a contract yet, but that’s between him and his team,” Horner said.
“But the situation with Max, we know clearly where we’re at and obviously so does Max. So everything is subject to noise and obviously within any contract it remains confidential between the parties.”
The dramatic developments – assuming they are indeed “concrete” – come just days after Verstappen’s title hopes took a major blow. The Dutchman was forced to retire on Lap 1 of the Austrian Grand Prix after a collision with Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli, leaving him 61 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri.
The incident highlighted once again the fragile state of Red Bull’s 2025 campaign – one that has been marked by inconsistency and internal pressure.
If Verstappen does make the leap to Mercedes, it would force the team to drop one of its current drivers. Russell, out of contract at the end of the year, may be the odd man out, while the highly touted Antonelli is seen as a long-term project.
For now, all eyes are on the summer break. And while Toto Wolff downplays the chances of landing Verstappen and Red Bull brushes off the conjecture, the very fact that this story won’t go away suggests there may be more to come.
Because in Formula 1, when there’s this much smoke – there’s often fire.
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