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Three-time defending Formula 1 world drivers champion Max Verstappen could be Max Vergoin’ (not sorry) to one of Red Bull Racing’s top rivals.
According to a report from German magazine Auto Motor und Sport, Mercedes has focused on the superstar as the top candidate to replace the outgoing Lewis Hamilton following the 2024 season.
Hamilton shocked the racing world last month when he announced he would leave the German powerhouse to join Ferrari in 2025.
That left Mercedes looking for a driver to pair with rising star George Russell in the coming years. And while Verstappen leaving Red Bull may seem unlikely, as the team is currently at the top of the sport, there is some reason to believe it could happen.
“At the moment Max Verstappen is the hottest candidate for the Mercedes seat next to George Russell,” AMuS reports.
“(He) is not going, (you) say? Everything is possible in Formula 1. More and more evidence suggests that there may be sensational transfer. And the affair around Christian Horner is the lever for it.”
Horner, Red Bull’s team principal, is currently embroiled in a controversy surrounding a sexual harassment allegation against him.
AMuS notes that Red Bull sports director Helmut Marko is concerned about the ongoing situation. Marko reportedly believes that he could lose both future engine supplier Ford and superstar chief technology officer Adrian Newey.
Newey has designed championship-winning cars in each of the last four decades.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff also did little to quell the speculation over the weekend. When asked if his team would pursue Verstappen, he said simply that “the fastest drivers always want to sit in the fastest car. And Red Bull currently has the fastest car.”
The move is still seemingly unlikely. But if it were to happen, it could turn the Formula 1 grid completely on its head.