Doornbos advises Verstappen 'Go to Mercedes, Ford won't be it'

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff makes no secret of it: he wants Max Verstappen in one of his F1 cars in '25. At first glance, a switch does not seem an attractive option for the triple world champion, as he is currently an unbeatable unit with Red Bull Racing. But that is about to change, believes Robert Doornbos, who also competed for Red Bull in Formula 1 in the past.

Doornbos believes that from 2026 - when the technical regulations are due for a shake-up - Red Bull Racing is no longer where Verstappen should be. From that year, the Austrians will use home-built power units together with Ford. "Ford is not going to deliver. As it looks now, they don't have enough power," the former driver told Ziggo Sport. In doing so, Doornbos confirms what GPblog heard earlier from a very reliable source.

Verstappen should switch to Mercedes

The former F1 driver therefore expects Red Bull to drop back from '26 and would advise Verstappen to go to Mercedes: "As a manufacturer, they have an edge over a privateer. The team may have a budget cap, but Daimler can pump as many millions into those models and engines as they want. You then want to be with a factory team. You may think: with Ford, it will be top. No, you don't know."

Verstappen has a contract at Red Bull until the end of 2028, but it does include all sorts of exit clauses. If it were up to Wolff, Verstappen would make the switch to his team as early as next winter, but the current turmoil within Red Bull would probably have to lead to an implosion of the Austrian team first.