According to the German F1 Insider, which has a good relationship with Red Bull Racing team advisor Helmut Marko, the top management of Mercedes, both the Formula 1 team and the company, want to set up a serious conversation with Max Verstappen. This negotiation would take place after the Grand Prix in Miami.
Verstappen has been associated with a move to Mercedes all season, after unrest at Red Bull started due to alleged inappropriate behavior by team boss Christian Horner. Adrian Newey is expected to be the first leader to leave Red Bull. As a result, Mercedes sees new opportunities to also tempt Verstappen to make a switch.
Top of Mercedes is called together
F1 Insider reports that negotiations between Verstappen and Mercedes are now taking more serious forms. ‘In the fourteen days between the race in Miami and the European opening race in Imola, concrete negotiations will take place between Mercedes and Team Verstappen, which consists of the driver himself, his father Jos, and manager Raymond Vermeulen. F1-Insider understands that Mercedes shareholders Toto Wolff, CEO Ola Källenius, and INEOS owner James Ratcliffe want to meet the Verstappens.
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This would mean that all Mercedes leaders would be present. The Formula 1 team has three shareholders: team boss Wolff owns a third of the shares, just like parent company Daimler, and INEOS, which also has considerable financial space through multi-billionaire Ratcliffe. ‘The Dutchman will then decide whether he will move to Mercedes next year. This is made possible by a clause in his contract, which indicates that the winning Dutchman can leave the Red Bull ship prematurely if mentor and confidant Marko is no longer on board. It is certain that Marko will not stand in Verstappen’s way if necessary,” shares F1-Insider, which is on good terms with the Austrian.
Marko can therefore give Verstappen plenty of space by either retiring – something he regularly hinted at after the death of Dietrich Mateschitz – or by joining Verstappen to Mercedes. ‘The point is: Verstappen first wants to see how serious Mercedes is during the talks. He wants to see to what extent Mercedes is prepared to accommodate Verstappen. It’s not just about money for the three-time world champion. F1 Insider understands that he wants guarantees that the Silver Arrows will do better in 2025.’
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Mercedes has had a poor start to the season and is even well behind customer team McLaren in fourth place among the constructors. ‘Verstappen therefore wants Mercedes to take over key Red Bull specialists.’ Verstappen and race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase have both indicated in the past that they no longer want to work without each other, and it therefore seems quite possible that Verstappen would like to take Lambiase with him to Mercedes.
Will Mercedes go all the way?
Wolff has already made many attempts to publicly praise Verstappen this season. ‘It has become clear that Mercedes absolutely wants to bring in Verstappen as Lewis Hamilton’s successor, and Mercedes is prepared to do a lot for this. The interest is also clear from the fact that not only team boss Wolff, but also CEO Källenius and the British multi-billionaire Ratcliffe are present at the meetings.’ In 2014, Wolff also tried to sign Verstappen, but he was trumped by Marko, who offered the then 16-year-old Verstappen a Formula 1 contract.
Astronomical salary
Verstappen would therefore want more security than just a good salary, but according to F1 Insider, the Limburger could make significant financial progress with the Germans. ‘Mercedes wants to offer Verstappen a good salary and sign him as an ambassador for Mercedes in the long term, for after his career. INEOS owner and sports fan Ratcliffe, also the owner of Manchester United, wants to spend many millions to get Verstappen. Ratcliffe is one of the five richest Britons, with around $16.1 billion. With bonuses and other payments, Verstappen could earn around 150 million euros per year.’
F1-Insider also shares that Verstappen is very popular within Mercedes, and that it plays a role that he speaks fluent German. The website shares that Marko is probably part of the deal with Verstappen. ‘Mercedes must be prepared to lay out the red carpet for Verstappen in other ways. They would even be willing to give Marko a place. Two years ago that seemed unthinkable given the arguments between Wolff and Marko, but the power struggle at Red Bull has changed everything.’
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This power struggle continues to play a leading role. ‘It is certain that the chances of a transfer are greater than expected. From an emotional point of view, Verstappen has already made the choice. The Verstappens have already expressed their support for Horner and for Marko. The atmosphere within the team would be toxic. The Dutchman must now determine whether the sporting aspect outweighs the atmosphere in the team, as he has a better chance of winning the world title in 2025 at Red Bull.
Verstappen, however, is said to be full of self-confidence. ‘F1-Insider understands that the Verstappens have also analyzed that Red Bull will no longer be as strong without the top talent, and if the car improves a little, Verstappen can also compete for victories at Mercedes in 2025. The new regulations for the chassis and engine also play a major role.
German experts welcome transfer
F1-Insider already spoke to two experts about the rumor. Norbert Haug, former boss of Mercedes’ motorsport division, said: ‘I have been active in Formula 1 for almost fifty years, and have lived through the eras of Niki Lauda, ​​Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, and Lewis Hamilton. None of them were as dominant as Verstappen.’ Ralf Schumacher also praised the Limburger. ‘Max makes the difference. You can see from the performance of his teammate that it is not just the Red Bull. If you take over Verstappen, you also weaken a major competitor.’
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