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Former Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas has provided his views on rumors about Max Verstappen potentially leaving Red Bull and joining Mercedes.
After Christian Horner and Red Bull's investigation chaos, various news outlets have alleged that Verstappen could leave the Austrian team. Speculations about his move to Mercedes surfaced when his father Jos publicly blamed Horner for issues inside Red Bull and met with Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff after the Bahrain GP.
Speaking to the media ahead of the 2024 F1 Australian GP, Valtteri Bottas spoke about the situation. Bottas indicated that he does not see Verstappen moving away from Red Bull, particularly because of how dominant their RB20 F1 car is.
"I personally wouldn’t see why he would like to leave Red Bull. It [RB20] is clearly the fastest car on the grid but I don't know all the details," he said.
After the 2021 F1 season, where Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen fought valiantly for the world championship, many believed that the drivers and their teams would never be associated with each other.
However, Bottas believes that Verstappen could still move to Mercedes, despite them being rivals.
"I don’t think so because in the end, it’s racing, it is tough competition. That’s F1, that’s normal. There are always rivalries but I don’t think he has burned any bridges anywhere and I think any team would like him," Bottas said.
Red Bull advisor debunks rumors of him and Max Verstappen's potential move to Mercedes
Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko recently played down rumors of him and Max Verstappen potentially leaving Red Bull and moving to Mercedes.
After Christian Horner's investigation, Marko was also examined by Red Bull's parent company. During the investigation, several rumors emerged about the 80-year-old being removed from the team.
On the other hand, Toto Wolff hinted that Mercedes could use someone like Marko, which sparked even more speculation about latter joining the Silver Arrows. Amid all this, rumors of Max Verstappen's potential move to Mercedes were already doing the rounds ever since Jos Verstappen met with Wolff in Bahrain.
However, Marko recently played down those rumors. He first praised Verstappen's loyalty towards him and clarified that neither he nor the Dutch driver are currently contemplating joining the Brackley-based team.
"It's a long time... I was very grateful for Max's loyalty. He impressed me. At the moment we are not going to go to Mercedes together," said Marko (via Sportskeeda).
As of now, Max Verstappen remains in Red Bull as their star driver and continues to dominate the grid. He has started the 2024 F1 season well, winning both Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GPs.
