Max Verstappen shares latest update on his career plans for 2025

Max Verstappen recently talked about his future with Red Bull amid Mercedes transfer rumors. The three-time world champion said that it is not the easiest decision to leave his current team.

Ever since Ferrari announced that they would hire Lewis Hamilton in 2025, Mercedes was forced to find a new driver who would drive alongside George Russell. Driver names like Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso, junior driver Kimi Antonelli, and even Max Verstappen were thrown around as rumors abounded speculating which driver Mercedes would chase.

Perhaps the most surprising name that was linked with the Silver Arrows was Verstappen's. The Dutchman has always been under the Red Bull umbrella, starting his career in 2016 with Toro Rosso and quickly being promoted to Red Bull Racing.

The rumor about him potentially joining the Brackley-based team emerged after Jos Verstappen was seen meeting with Mercedes' honcho Toto Wolff at Bahrain GP. Soon enough, Wolff publicly praised Verstappen and stated that any team would love to hire him as their driver.

In the press conference before Austrian GP, however, Max Verstappen hinted that he was still committed to Red Bull. During the session, he was asked whether he could clear the air and declare that he would remain in the Austrian-British team. He replied that he was currently focused on improving Red Bull's RB20 for 2024 and working with the team in the future.

"I think I've said this before. I mean, actually, of course, people are talking, but it's most important just that we have a very competitive car for the future. At the moment, of course, it's very tight, but we are working very well as a team to try and improve more. And for sure, I said this already, with the team, we are working and focusing also on next year to try and be competitive again," Verstappen said.

He was further asked whether he would move away from Red Bull if it were to no longer be the fastest team on the grid. To this, Verstappen replied that leaving a team was not the simplest task. He further added that he had a long contract with the team and was happy where he was at.

"I don't think that's how Formula 1 works, where then suddenly you can say, ‘well, bye, guys’. It's not how it works. I have a long contract with the team. I'm very happy where I'm at. And like I said before, we are focusing also already on next year with things that we can implement on the car. So I guess that should say enough of where I'm driving next year," he added.

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Toto Wolff reckons Max Verstappen still not clear about his future with Red Bull

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff recently reacted to how Max Verstappen addressed his future with Red Bull.

In an interview with OE24, Toto Wolff was told that Verstappen said yes to the question of whether he would be staying in Red Bull or not. However, Wolff replied that the three-time world champion was not clear in his answer. He added also that he could not definitively make a claim either way, as he was not present during the press conference.

"I don't think he clearly said yes. But I wasn't there."

As of now, neither Mercedes nor Max Verstappen has confirmed anything about a potential alliance.