Verstappen's rumoured switch 'won't be that easy' to Mercedes, former driver explains

Verstappen qualified on pole position for the Miami Grand Prix, but was eventually overtaken by the two McLarens in the state of Florida. The Dutchman could not finish on the podium either, after thanks to a VSC, George Russell jumped him in the pit lane.

Former F1 driver Albers explained that he saw positives for the Austrian team in Miami. "During the qualifying sessions, you see Max pulling the maximum out of it, and I find that impressive," he said in De Telegraaf's podcast.

Albers also believes that Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff could see why trying to bring Verstappen in would be beneficial for his team, even as his drivers did well. "On Friday and Saturday, Toto Wolff might have thought: 'why do I need Verstappen?', with Russell being consistently fast and maybe extracting the maximum from the car, and with Kimi Antonelli who suddenly takes pole position, who has talent and speed. But then you see the race on Sunday and you see a fighting Verstappen who doesn't give an inch, then I think you are thinking differently. Then he would probably think that it would be fantastic to reel this guy in."

Yet, the former F1 driver also underlined that changing teams would not just be very straightforward: "I think all analysts think too easily that Verstappen can just make a move. We have to keep in mind that a lot of contracts have been signed, and a contract is not something that can be easily broken. So it won't be that easy," Albers notes.