Max Verstappen has lost his leverage to Mercedes, claims 7x F1 winner

Juan Pablo Montoya feels Max Verstappen has now lost his contract negotiating leverage with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff as Red Bull continues to struggle. The Dutch driver is in a precarious situation right now as he tries to understand the next step he takes in his career.

On one hand, he has a contract with Red Bull that continues until the end of 2028. On the other hand, the team has been on a steady decline since last year. To add to this, the team would be building its own power unit in 2026, and rumors state that it might not be as good as the benchmark in F1.

This puts Max Verstappen in a situation where he has to make a call on where he ends up in 2026. The Dutch driver could ultimately just stick with Red Bull and see how the team is going into the new regulations; this way he would have a better idea of the pecking order as well. Or the driver could take a leap of faith on either Mercedes or Aston Martin and decide that one of the two squads would be his home in the near future.

Juan Pablo Montoya, however, feels that Max Verstappen has now lost his negotiation leverage, which he had in 2024, as Red Bull's struggles mean he is in a worse car right now. He told Plejmo (via Planet F1):

“If I were Max, I would be worried. Six months ago he could have asked for the top price where he could have gone and people would have paid that. But with how things are going at Red Bull now, he can also knock on Toto Wolff’s door and say ‘dude, pay me less, but let me drive your car’. Is he willing to do that?"

He added:

“If he really wants to win, he will go to Toto Wolff to convince him to hire him. If he wants to get into the position where he can maybe win and still make a lot of money, then he has to go to Lawrence Stroll and Aston Martin.”

Max Verstappen-Red Bull era coming to an end: Montoya

Montoya did, however, feel that this was the end of the Max Verstappen-Red Bull era. The former McLaren driver felt that the Dutch driver might have to choose between money and having the best car. Talking about the dilemma Verstappen is in right now, he said:

“This is the beginning of the end of Max Verstappen at Red Bull. It almost has to be. But in a way, Verstappen has been a blessed person with the time when he had the best car. Max wants to win, but if the Red Bull is not competitive, it is difficult to negotiate."

He added:

"The negotiations went last year, when Toto Wolff was also very vocal about signing Max, differently than it would be now. The amounts have risen incredibly high. But at some point Max has to make the choice: ‘do I want to go for the best car or do I want to make a lot of money?’.”

Max Verstappen's next career step is going to be crucial because it doesn't take long in F1 for a form guide to get worse.