Helmut Marko says Max Verstappen to Mercedes rumors will “stop immediately” if Red Bull provides him with a winning F1 challenger

Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko has opined that if his team manages to give Max Verstappen a championship-winning car again, rumors about latter's departure from the team will die down. This statement was made amid rumors about the driver potentially moving to Mercedes in the future.

In the 2024 F1 season, two major incidents happened that seemed to trigger rumors of Verstappen's exit. The first one was Lewis Hamilton's exit from Mercedes. The seven-time world champion decided to race for Ferrari in 2025, forcing the Silver Arrows to search for a driver who could fill Hamilton's massive shoes.

The second reason why rumors emerged about Verstappen leaving Red Bull was because of internal turmoil in the Austrian team, especially in the wake of Christian Horner being investigated over alleged inappropriate behavior in February.

Moreover, Red Bull is no longer a dominant team in 2024. Rivals Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes have massively closed the gap to the defending world champions. To put things in perspective, McLaren's Lando Norris most recently won Verstappen's home race at Zandvoort by defeating the home favorite by 22 seconds.

Speaking to the Inside Line Podcast, Marko said every rumor about Verstappen's potential departure from Red Bull would die down the moment the team was able to develop a championship-winning car for him again. He also appeared assured that the three-time world champion will race for Red Bull next season.

"At the moment everything is clear. Max will drive for us next season and we have to give him a car that can win. And then all these rumors will, I think, stop immediately," Marko said (6:45).

Marko added:

"At the moment Max is focused to win the championship, as the team is focused to win this championship, and we have to look forward" (6:04).

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Max Verstappen on his relationship with Mercedes boss amid transfer rumors

While rumors about Max Verstappen's transfer continue to brew, the Dutchman has been talking about his relationship with Mercedes head honcho Toto Wolff.

Speaking in the post-qualifying session during the Dutch GP, Verstappen said that he gets along well with Wolff and praised his openness. The Red Bull driver added that he did not find anything wrong in Wolff's approach to talking about the open seat for next year at the team.

"No, I mean, everyone can say what they want. And I get on very well with Toto. I think he's very open about what's happening within his team, right? Also, I think with the driver line-up and stuff. So there's nothing wrong with that. And at the same time, also, I just focus on my job. There's a lot to do anyway. So, yeah, we just focus on that," Verstappen said.

As of now, Verstappen has a contract with Red Bull till 2028. Mercedes has yet to announce who will come in to the team to replace Lewis Hamilton in 2025.