Verstappen can forget about a move to Mercedes: few options left for 2027

For two years now, there has been talk of a possible switch by Max Verstappen to Mercedes, but it won’t happen in 2027 either. In 2024, Verstappen held serious talks with the Mercedes camp for the first time, but with Red Bull he fought his way back into the title battle and remained loyal to the Austrian team for 2025. A year later it happened again, but Red Bull once more managed to turn the tide and keep Max on board.

Many people in 2026 are saying that Verstappen should have “just” gone to Mercedes. Mercedes now has the best car, and the sentiment makes some sense, but in practice it was more complex. Verstappen couldn’t simply leave Red Bull Racing. He had a contract through 2028, and the exit clause couldn’t be triggered because Verstappen was still among the top three drivers at the summer break.

Of course, Verstappen could have played hardball and demanded a departure, but on what grounds? With the dismissal of Christian Horner, Red Bull did everything it could to satisfy Verstappen’s camp. If a team does everything for you, do you start a war? Besides, thanks to updates Red Bull returned to the title fight and Verstappen missed a fifth world title by just two points.

In 2026, the situation has clearly changed. Verstappen’s clause would now allow him to leave Red Bull if he is outside the top two at the summer break. With a 60-point deficit to second-placed Lewis Hamilton and only four Grands Prix remaining until the break, Verstappen seems, for the first time, able to activate that clause.

Verstappen has confirmed that he will remain active in Formula 1 in 2027. The adjustments to the engine regulations are not entirely to Max’s liking yet, but they’re moving in the right direction. However, confirmation that he will stay with Red Bull has been absent both externally and internally—much to the frustration of Red Bull’s top brass, who want to plan the future with Verstappen.

For Red Bull, it will be a relief that the most attractive option is off the table. With the confirmation that Russell will drive for Mercedes in 2027, a door closes for Verstappen that had seemed open for years. Wolff would have gladly brought him to Mercedes in 2025 and 2026, but now that the team is at the top, changes are no longer necessary.

And that stance was fairly predictable. Once a top team is at the top and has drivers who can win races and titles, a different world champion is rarely brought in. The risk of disrupting the team’s dynamic is simply too great.

Alongside Mercedes, the door also closed at Ferrari, which with a new contract for Charles Leclerc and a multi-year deal for Lewis Hamilton already has two drivers locked in for 2027.

In that respect, Oliver Mintzlaff may not have been so wrong. The Red Bull executive reportedly does not want to buy out Verstappen’s clause because he believes Verstappen has no other options. With Ferrari and Mercedes off the table, that’s largely true, although McLaren remains as one option.

McLaren is the other top team Verstappen could still move to. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have long-term contracts, but in F1 that doesn’t always mean everything. If Zak Brown had the chance to sign Max Verstappen—the man who once, and almost twice, snatched the title from McLaren with far less machinery—he’d be mad to pass it up.

By buying out Daniel Ricciardo’s contract, Brown has also shown he isn’t afraid to act when necessary. Back then, too, a better option for McLaren was attainable than the current driver.

McLaren offers Verstappen many advantages. It’s a team that is exceptionally strong at building and developing a great car. That was evident in 2024 and 2025, and in 2026 the development curve from the Woking team is also quite steep. In addition, Gianpiero Lambiase will move to McLaren in 2028 and may even become the team’s new principal.

Verstappen has always been loyal to strong figures within Red Bull. While many of those people have left Red Bull, McLaren has been reeling in one heavyweight after another.

There is, however, one important caveat to a move to McLaren: it is a customer team. Red Bull Racing, with Red Bull Powertrains-Ford, now has everything in its own hands, whereas McLaren does not have full control over the Mercedes engine. As 2024 and 2025 showed, you can still become world champion that way, but it generally makes the challenge more difficult.