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Max Verstappen's father, Jos Verstappen, was seen heading towards the Mercedes hospitality in Austria. This happened after Red Bull team principal Christian Horner jokingly commented about the Brackley team hiring Jos.
Red Bull has had a very successful stint with Verstappen behind the steering wheel, managing to win both world championships in the past two seasons. This was part of a competitive driver pairing and a dominant car developed by the team. Verstappen currently also has the longest (known) contract on the grid, keeping him locked with the team until the 2028 season.
However, earlier this season, there was an unexpected rumor that Max Verstappen might consider moving to Mercedes. This emerged after Lewis Hamilton's 2025 move to Ferrari was announced. Adding to the rumors, team principal Toto Wolff recently stated that, given Verstappen's performance, teams would like to hire him.
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"Max is the best driver atm, and everyone who has the chance would like to have him in their car. Ola (Mercedes CEO) sees it the same way."
Reacting to this, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner commented that the only 'Verstappen' that Mercedes can have is Jos, Max's father.
"If Mercedes wants to have a Verstappen in the car next year, then Jos might be available," he said, according to Erik van Haven.
Interestingly enough, Jos Verstappen was seen heading towards the Mercedes hospitality shortly after this comment was shared with the media.
Christian Horner's bold statement on the driver filling Hamilton's seat at Mercedes in 2025: "It won't be Max Verstappen."
Rumors of Max Verstappen potentially joining Mercedes gained significant momentum after Toto Wolff's statements. However, Christian Horner appears determined to dispel this speculation.
Speaking in Austria, Christian Horner focused on the importance of Max Verstappen at Red Bull. He called him a "crucial" part of the team, and also boldly stated that he would not be filling up for Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in 2025.
"He’s a crucial member of the team, he enjoys being part of the team," F1 quoted him as saying. "He’s got a tremendous group around him. We know what the future looks like. Obviously a lot of noise been made about him going elsewhere, and sometimes one just thinks that that’s a distraction tactic that’s just thrown in."
"You have to question, what are the motives behind that? The driver that’s created all the movement in the market [Lewis Hamilton] had all the information about the engines and 2026 regulations and so on, and chose to leave and left a vacancy at Mercedes, which is why there has now been a little bit of speculation as to who will fill that seat – but it won’t be Max Verstappen," Horner added.
Max Verstappen is undoubtedly essential for Red Bull in the current competition. The gap between the top teams is extremely small, but the Dutchman has consistently emerged victorious.
