Max Verstappen predicted to target Mercedes move amid Red Bull slump
Max Verstappen has again been linked with a move to Mercedes.
Jolyon Palmer has predicted Max Verstappen will be “looking at a way to get into that Mercedes” after Red Bull slipped down the pecking order.
The Dutchman has long been linked with a move to Brackley and while rumours have died down of late, the difference in performance between the two teams has one pundit predicting a swap could be back on the cards.
Max Verstappen tipped for renewed Mercedes push
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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has made his adulation of Verstappen well known, having turned him down before he joined Toro Rosso, and in recent years has been trying to persuade the now 28-year-old to join.
That seemed unlikely whilst Red Bull was winning with Verstappen putting together a run of four consecutive titles but the failure to win last year, followed by the Milton Keynes outfit being well down the 2026 pecking order has again raised speculation that a swap could happen.
Former driver turned pundit Jolyon Palmer went as far as to suggest Verstappen would “be looking at a way to get into that Mercedes.”
“The conversation is going to happen,” he said on the F1 Nation podcast. “Max is not here to finish eighth in qualifying. He’s not here to not even fight for a podium. He’s going to be looking at a way to get into that Mercedes, because they have the best car.
“They will, at the very least be in the mix for being champions for the next couple of years as well.
“And if you’re Toto, you’ve got a chance to sign Max, you’ve got the threat of other teams closing in so your built-in advantage at the start of this year is only going to get smaller, you can’t ignore the fact that you have Max Verstappen calling.”
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If Verstappen were to agree to join, it raises the question of who would he replace as both current Mercedes drivers have their merits. For George Russell, he is clearly the stronger driver but there is the belief that Kimi Antonelli could be a Verstappen-level driver in the future.
That decision was already hinted at last year and Palmer said that could be something that is floating in the background as this season goes on.
“We saw already those conversations happened last year, and there was a bit of tension,” Palmer said. “I think, Austria, where in the press conference, George was like ‘well, hang on, why are we talking that he’d replaced me? I’m beating Kimi all the time.’
“So he should be worried. So imagine there’s the title looming and that in the background. I think that is a very good point.”
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