Red Bull Fears Verstappen’s Exit Amid Mercedes Handshake Rumors
Sep.17 - Red Bull has good reason to worry about keeping Max Verstappen at the team.
The triple world champion is under contract through 2028, but the deal is littered with reported performance and exit clauses that probably give him an 'out' at the end of 2025.
Verstappen's management, led by his father Jos and Raymond Vermeulen, have been openly flirting with Mercedes' Toto Wolff throughout the past several months.
F1-insider.com is now reporting that a "handshake agreement" has even been made between Jos Verstappen and Wolff, regarding a move for the 26-year-old driver for 2026.
But another potential option for Verstappen has just emerged, as Red Bull loses its technical 'genius' Adrian Newey to Aston Martin for 2025 and beyond.
The Silverstone based team's works Honda power in 2026 may also be ultra-attractive for the Verstappen camp, given that all three of his Red Bull titles were won with the Japanese manufacturer.
When asked about the new Aston Martin link, Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko told Osterreich newspaper: "I have no idea where that comes from."
It has even been suggested that Verstappen may try to take his mentor Marko with him - potentially reuniting the 81-year-old Austrian with an Aston Martin company car.
"I have to admit, the Aston Martin was a fun car," Marko, 81, smiled, "but that's not the deciding factor for me.
"Every sensible team boss has to be interested in Max," he added. "And he always wants to sit in the car in which he can become world champion."
Marko does admit that Newey will probably find renewed success in green.
"Even when he joined us, Newey had the know-how to become world champion," he said. "He started with very specific demands and ideas. Nowadays you need a much bigger team, but he will probably get that."
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, however, insists that Verstappen is still fully committed to the energy drink-owned team.
"He's working with the engineers and explaining very clearly where the problems with the car lie," said the Briton.
"He's putting a lot of time and effort into this process, and has been on many Zoom calls and in the simulator over the last couple of weeks."
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"a "handshake agreement" has even been made between Jos Verstappen and Wolff"
The journo's have all got it wrong. The handshake agreement is for Jos to make a comeback. He is aggrieved that his only moment of fame in F1 came with the fire in the pits with Benetton, and he wants to make amends!
Horner is keeping his fingers crossed but in reality knows Toto is to clever to lumber himself with the Verstappens. There is to much cheap young talent available without nightmare fathers.
All these rumours probably originated from Joss
Toto has zero experience of signing wdcs, it was Niki who got Hannah to Mercedes, his whole f1 career is luck based, perhaps not a popular opinion , but prior to buying into Merc what had he actually done in f1?, a director at Williams , a title given to him because he bought a shareholding nowt else..!, im just saying.....
Let's hope this is rubbish. I would hate to have to change the team I support because they decided to bring Baby Verstappen and his micro-manager father into the fold.
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