Talks between Verstappen and Mercedes intensify: Why it's all about the waiting game

As is now well known: Max Verstappen has a clear preference to stay at Red Bull. But his camp isn’t naive and is keeping all options open. In that light, it’s smart to continue talks with Mercedes as well. So the claim that Verstappen is already halfway into the 2026 Mercedes seat is not accurate. Toto Wolff also admitted this last Friday when asked by GPblog.

For now, Verstappen isn’t going anywhere and will also drive for Red Bull next season. But could that scenario ever change? Yes — supposedly, if team principal Christian Horner’s power is not scaled back, This website wrote about that on Monday. Red Bull GmbH — the parent company of the racing team — surely knows this too, so now it comes down to a choice: choose Verstappen or Horner?

If the answer to that question is ‘Horner’, then the door to Mercedes could be opened wider, so it’s to be expected that the Verstappen camp is keeping the lines of communication with Wolff warm. In the coming period, there will likely be some messages exchanged. But is the race in Austria — where Verstappen qualified no higher than seventh — the direct reason for this?

That’s doubtful. Because yes, are Mercedes really a step forward? Earlier, GPblog heard from a very reliable source that Mercedes are currently not considered a sporting step up. Take, for example, the Austrian Grand Prix, where George Russell crossed the finish line more than 62 seconds behind winner Lando Norris.

Although it was long expected that Mercedes’ power unit would be the fastest, due to the late adjustment in the balance between the battery and the combustion engine, the difference between teams in terms of engines might not be significant.

So everything comes down to the chassis, and in recent years, Red Bull have really had the upper hand over Mercedes in this area.