Helmut Marko grilled on Max Verstappen to Mercedes after Toto Wolff meeting rumour

Jamie Woodhouse
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen looking towards Mercedes boss Toto Wolff in the larger circle, and Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko in the smaller circle

Max Verstappen is free to meet with whoever he wants says Helmut Marko

Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko was pressed for his response to the rumour of a meeting held between their star driver Max Verstappen and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.

Marko appears cool, calm and collected on the claim, stressing that Verstappen is free to “meet with whoever he wants”, Red Bull safe in the knowledge that it has “a valid contract” with Verstappen running until the end of 2028.

Did Max Verstappen and Toto Wolff meet? Helmut Marko plays it cool

Current Mercedes driver George Russell sparked talk of Verstappen to Mercedes back into life when he claimed “ongoing” discussions between driver and team were influencing his path to a new deal, neither Russell nor Kimi Antonelli contracted to Mercedes beyond the end of 2025 as it stands.

Wolff and Verstappen have not shut down the rumour mill, which gained fresh energy when yacht and jet trackers believed they had potentially pinpointed the duo meeting in Sardinia after the British Grand Prix.

However, it is unclear if a meeting between Verstappen and Wolff actually took place.

The rumour was put to Marko by Austrian outlet OE24, and he responded: “Max can meet with whoever he wants.”

While Verstappen’s Red Bull contract runs through 2028, a performance-related exit clause within it fuels the speculation that he could look to leave with his hopes of a fifth consecutive Drivers’ title fading, the gap to leader Oscar Piastri having grown to 69 points with 12 rounds remaining.

It is believed that Verstappen can trigger the exit clause if he is outside the top four in the Drivers’ Championship heading into the summer break after the Hungarian Grand Prix, though such information places Red Bull in a strong position, as fifth-place Charles Leclerc is 46 points behind Verstappen.

Marko’s continued confidence over Verstappen remaining with Red Bull therefore appears justified.

“We have a valid contract and we assume that Max will stay with us,” he affirmed.

Such an occurrence would effectively confirm that Russell and Antonelli will continue with Mercedes into F1 2026, a season of change and intrigue as smaller, lighter cars and revamped engines arrive.

Latest on Max Verstappen from PlanetF1.com

👉 How Red Bull controls Max Verstappen’s future and why he can’t leave

👉 Who exactly are Team Verstappen and how influential are they?

Russell is expecting to still be a Mercedes driver at that point, and hopes for official confirmation soon.

While he acknowledged that there is “not really any deadline in place”, Russell added: “Obviously, naturally, you try and have stuff done before the summer break.

“From my side, Mercedes manage me as well, so it’s not really a deadline in my hands as such. And I’m not even thinking about it right now.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of questions about it. But the more we speak, the less we speak about it, nothing really changes.

“It’ll happen when the time is right. I expect probably in the next couple of weeks, probably something to happen.

“But, yeah, we’ll need to wait and see.”

Read next: Christian Horner’s 2027 comment about Max Verstappen catches fresh attention