Major 'Max Verstappen to Mercedes' revelation from F1 pundit after Jos Verstappen overheard at F1 Monaco GP

F1 pundit David Croft revealed that Max Verstappen's previously-rumored move to Mercedes could still become a reality. He explained that people overheard Max's father, Jos Verstappen, talking about the potential move at the Monaco GP.

After Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was accused of inappropriate behavior by a female staff member in February this year, the defending world champions found themselves surrounded by controversy. The chaos eventually sucked in the team's senior advisor, Helmut Marko, whom Max Verstappen is known to respect a lot.

When rumors about Marko's departure emerged, Verstappen clearly admitted his loyalty and insinuated that he himself could leave if the 80-year-old Austrian is removed from Red Bull. Amid all this, Jos Verstappen was seen meeting with Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff at the 2024 F1 Bahrain GP, sparking loads of speculation that Max Verstappen could make an explosive move to the Silver Arrows.

This would be especially notable since he would replace his rival, Lewis Hamilton, who moves to Ferrari in 2025.

Fast forward to June 2024, rumors about the three-time world champion moving to Mercedes have all but settled. But now, David Croft has revealed that several people in the paddock at the Monaco GP heard that Jos Verstappen believes the potential move could still be on the cards.

Speaking on Sky Sports' F1 podcast, Croft said that he received text messages from certain people who overheard Jos Verstappen talking about a potential Mercedes move for his son.

“I had a couple of wonderful text messages over the Monaco weekend from people who heard Jos Verstappen talking, saying, ‘Max going to Mercedes, that’s not dead in the water yet,’” Croft said. [36:50]

“It's quite clear there is still a bit of ground that needs to be resolved in that particular conversation... Logically, Max stays exactly where he is, but when has logic ever formed part of a really good discussion?” he added.

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Toto Wolff believes Max Verstappen would not join an underperforming Mercedes team

Ever since rumors about Max Verstappen's departure from Red Bull emerged, Mercedes honcho Toto Wolff has been hinting at how his team is trying to get the three-time world champion. Recently, however, the Austrian billionaire had a dull outlook on the matter, that Verstappen will not join Mercedes until the team's on-track performance improves.

As reported by formulapassion.it, Wolff feels that Mercedes is not competitive enough at the moment to lure Verstappen, and he looks to the team's improvement in the future in that regard.

"Max will not get into a car that is not competitive and at the moment we are not competitive enough to attract a world champion. But we (still) have to see how the next few months go," Wolff said.

Mercedes is currently fourth in the 2024 F1 constructors' championship with only 96 points, while Red Bull leads the table with 276. In the drivers' championship, Max Verstappen leads the table with 169 points.