Will Verstappen switch to Mercedes? 'The probability is high'

Ralf Schumacher has for weeks been critical of Christian Horner, who has been accused of inappropriate behaviour towards a female employee of the team. For the former F1 driver, it has been clear for some time: the Brit is better off stepping down as Red Bull Racing team boss. Speaking to Sport1, Schumacher reiterated that calm will not return at Red Bull as long as Horner is at the helm.

The Horner affair recently made it clear that there is a power struggle going on within Red Bull Racing, with Horner - backed by the Thai major shareholder of Red Bull GmbH. The Austrian side is opposed to the Thai side. Helmut Marko and the Verstappen side are considering leaving if the British boss stays.

Schumacher on possible Verstappen switch

In that case, Mercedes is a logical destination for the triple-world champion. As to whether a switch is really the best option, Schumacher has an opinion: "The chance is great. Because where else should Verstappen go if he does not want to stay at Red Bull? Ferrari is full, Audi is a long way from being competitive. Mercedes remains. I think Max, with his honesty, would suit Mercedes just fine. For Toto, this would be perfect."

According to Schumacher, if Verstappen does indeed switch to Mercedes, he should consider that winning is out of the question for now: "Mercedes is too far away from it at the moment for that," the current analyst believes. "Even if Max really is—as people suspect—0.3 seconds faster than the rest, that would not be enough for victories at the moment. It would make it all more exciting, though, that's for sure."