Jos Verstappen addresses transfer rumours Max Verstappen to Mercedes
F1 News
Speculation about Max Verstappen 's future in Formula 1 is abundant. The four-time world champion has been linked with a switch to Mercedes and Aston Martin, among others. Jos Verstappen quashed these rumours today, stating that Max will simply continue to drive for Red Bull Racing in 2026.
"It mainly plays out on social media, people make an issue of it there," Jos responded firmly during a radio interview when asked about his son Max's transfer rumours. "At the moment there is nothing at all. There are no other contracts. The only contract out there is with Red Bull. We just wait for that and see how it goes this year".
Earlier this week, Verstappen senior responded to a statement by Jack Plooij, who suggested that Max Verstappen would have already signed a contract with Mercedes ahead of 2026. On X, Jos responded to the statements with: "Jack, Jack, Jack. What nonsense are you saying".
Baby has no bearing on Max Verstappen
Jos was then asked if Verstappen's baby's arrival would affect his performance. "I don't think so," he responds. "If I look at myself, it had absolutely no influence on me at the time. I don't think it will with Max either. Maybe he's just happy to leave home with all that crying," he continued, laughing.
According to Jos, it remains to be seen when the new generation of Verstappen will also be active in motorsport. "That is far too early at the moment. We wanted to start karting when Max was about six, but it ended up being a bit earlier. I don't think the karts are ready for Max [to use with his coming child] now," he concludes.
This article was written in collaboration with Mitchell van der Hoef.
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