Verstappen Reportedly Talked To Mercedes Personally Amid Potential Red Bull Exit

Tuesday, 16 April 2024 at 07:40

According to former F1 driver Robert Doornbos, Max Verstappen went to talk to Mercedes personally with permission from Helmut Marko.

Rumors about Max Verstappen's possible exit from Red Bull have slowly gone away over the last two weeks. Verstappen has now repeatedly stated that he would like to stay with his team until 2028.

However, former F1 driver Robert Doornbos suggested that the team is still divided from within. He told Ziggo Sport Race Café:

"It is very impressive that the drivers, the mechanics, the engineers, all maintain this, these performances. There's a lot of friction there now. The process continues, but there are camps within the team."

When there is too much tension, it might lead to the team being torn apart, as Max Verstappen's father suggested. That hasn't happened yet, but Doornbos confirms Verstappen did explore his options.

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Interestingly, the former F1 driver suggested that the triple World Champion talk to Mercedes personally instead of sending his manager.

"At a certain point that is disastrous. When trust is lost, people start to determine their own futures."

"Max went to check, yes, Vermeulen talked briefly with Ferrari and then somewhere else, and then briefly there, but Max sat down one-on-one with Mercedes and said: 'Tell me your plans.' He wants to know whether they can take that 2014 battle again. He wants to grab that too.

In 2014, Mercedes gained a massive advantage over everyone because they were able to build the best power unit. The German team has many years of experience in this area.

Consequently, they are one of the favorites for 2026 despite being only the fourth or fifth-fastest team at the moment. Nevertheless, Doornbos can't see the 26-year-old going to Mercedes:

"It has not been said when he will go, but there is a plan for when he does go. If he were to go, a year of adjustment would be desirable Mercedes is far off the pace. Even Alonso indicated that he did not know why he wanted to sign there."