Jos Verstappen, father of Max Verstappen, had a disagreement with Christian Horner, head of the Red Bull team. Horner was recently cleared of misconduct allegations made by a team employee. Verstappen expressed concerns that the team might fall apart if Horner stays. During the season opening weekend in Bahrain, he was also seen with Toto Wolff, head of Mercedes and an old friend. This raised doubts about Max’s future at Red Bull, despite his contract with the team until 2028. Mercedes currently has a spot for 2025, alongside George Russell, after Lewis Hamilton’s decision to join Ferrari.
When asked if he could see Verstappen joining him at Mercedes, Russell replied that any team would want the best possible pair of drivers. He acknowledged that Max is currently the best driver on the grid, so if any team had the chance to sign him, they would take it. However, Russell believes the issue is more related to Verstappen and Red Bull. He acknowledged that many things are happening behind the scenes and that it’s not his business. Russell expressed excitement about the situation.
Verstappen has been dominant in Formula 1, winning the last three driver’s championships and 19 out of 22 races in the last season. In the season opener in Bahrain, he beat his teammate Sergio Perez by over 22 seconds, starting from pole position, leading every lap, and setting the fastest lap.
Russell, who was Hamilton’s teammate for three seasons, considers Hamilton the greatest driver of all time. He believes he did a good job alongside Hamilton and would welcome any driver who replaced him at Mercedes. Russell sees it as a challenge and believes he can beat anyone on the grid.
Several drivers have been linked to the Mercedes seat that will soon be vacant, including their own reserve driver Mick Schumacher, Aston Martin veteran Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz, who is leaving Ferrari to make way for Hamilton, and teenager Kimi Antonelli.
