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Verstappen to Mercedes or Aston Martin? Here is what's going on
- Ludo van Denderen
Ever since Adrian Newey has signed a multi-year deal at Aston Martin, there have been lots of rumours. One after another prominent figure in Formula 1 is now convinced that Max Verstappen will eventually opt to follow Newey as well. But then what about Mercedes, who were for long seen as Verstappen's most logical destination, in case he leaves Red Bull Racing? GPblog explains the current situation.
Hardly a day goes by without a medium somewhere in the world coming up with a new rumour about Max Verstappen's future. Not long ago, for instance, it was reported in Switzerland that the Dutchman wanted to leave Red Bull, rather yesterday than today. A German website followed soon after with an article that Jos Verstappen and Toto Wolff have a handshake deal made with Verstappen switching to Mercedes after the '25 season.
Verstappen wants to win (for now) with Red Bull
No doubt these are rumours that have generated a lof of clicks, but that does not make them true. At the moment, Max Verstappen is not thinking of a (quick) departure from Red Bull, as he hopes to successfully tackle all challenges of late with the Austrian racing team. In other words: With Red Bull, he wants to win the world title in '24 as well as in '25.
What happens after that? At the moment, any rumour about a switch after 2025 is really a rumour. Of course, it is no secret that Jos Verstappen and Toto Wolff have a friendly relationship, have regular contact with each other, but there is absolutely no (verbal) agreement - unlike it was reported in Germany. Jos Verstappen and Toto Wolff could want a change as much as they want, at the end of the day there is only one person who decides which F1 team he wants to drive for and that is Max Verstappen.
Verstappen also keeps an eye on developments
Nevertheless, Verstappen's camp closely follows developments in Formula 1: How will Red Bull do with their own Red Bull Powertrains? Can Mercedes return to the absolute front of the grid? And will Adrian Newey be able to live up to the sky-high expectations at Aston Martin? If, at some point (and, as aforementioned, that is not now), it turns out that Verstappen has a better chance of winning more titles with a team other than Red Bull, a move by the three-time world champion cannot be ruled out by any means.
Should - again, purely hypothetical - at this moment Verstappen need to choose a team other than Red Bull, Mercedes have a small edge over Aston Martin. While the British team of (co-)owner Lawrence Stroll are hugely ambitious, at the moment the team do not seem ready for to be a world championship contender yet. First, the new factory must be fully up and running and the bright minds in technical management must have shown that together they know how to build a top-tier car.
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