Watch: Mercedes team steals Max Verstappen's parking slot ahead of the 2024 F1 Hungarian GP

Mercedes F1 team members were seen parking their car in Max Verstappen's parking spot at the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver has had an eventful weekend so far as he qualified P3 for the main race on Sunday behind the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri on Saturday.

Off the track, the three-time world champion has also been competing in the 24-hour virtual race at Spa with his Team Redline, and he was seen completing stints overnight. The virtual race might have caused the delay in his arrival at the track for the main race on Sunday.

In a video shared on social media, Mercedes F1 team members parked their car in Max Verstappen's spot in the designated parking area. One fan shared the video with a joking caption implying it was another tactic from the team to get the Dutch driver to sign for them next year.

In an interview with OE24, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff claimed that he would be keeping the seat open for as long as possible in the hopes of Verstappen jumping ship and joining them. He said:

"As I always say: We'll keep our free seat free for as long as possible. First and foremost, we need to make our cars faster. If the car is fast, fast drivers will want to drive with us... I admire his achievements and as a person I have come to know him as an extraordinary young man.

"I've said it a lot recently: Max is the best driver at the moment, and everyone who has the chance would like to have Max in their car. Ola (Källenius, Mercedes CEO, ed.) sees it the same way," he added.

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Mercedes team boss optimistic about bagging Max Verstappen

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said that the decision to fill the second seat on the team would be based on data, as he spoke about the chances of Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen joining the eight-time constructors championship winners.

Speaking with Sky F1, the Austrian reflected (via PlanetF1):

“It’s a data decision and, obviously when you look at Kimi, the team hasn’t really found a good grip this year, which can happen. As for the rest of the driver market, there is something instinctive that tells me ‘Don’t rush’ and I can’t even tell you what it is."

Broadcaster and former world champion Nico Rosberg replied to Wolff, saying:

“That can only be a certain Max Verstappen, who hasn’t made his mind up yet, if I can just jump in there!”

Verstappen has repeatedly told the media that he has a contract with the Red Bull F1 team until the end of the 2028 season and he was happy with the outfit. However, he hasn't officially denied the rumors of a move to Mercedes as of yet.