{"id":268365,"date":"2025-07-17T04:13:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T04:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/268365\/"},"modified":"2025-07-17T04:13:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T04:13:11","slug":"mercedes-ceo-gives-green-light-to-max-verstappen-f1-pursuit-as-red-bull-alternatives-emerge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/268365\/","title":{"rendered":"Mercedes CEO gives ‘green light’ to Max Verstappen F1 pursuit as Red Bull alternatives emerge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mercedes CEO Ola Kallenius has reportedly given the \u201cgreen light\u201d to a bid to sign Max Verstappen<\/a> in Formula 1<\/a> as Red Bull\u2019s possible replacements have emerged.<\/p>\n

Verstappen\u2019s prospects have become integral to the driver market amid the revelation that his camp is in renewed discussions with Mercedes about a potential move.<\/p>\n

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff harbours a well-established interest in Verstappen, which began in 2014 before his F1 bow when he missed out on his services to Red Bull.<\/p>\n

Wolff rekindled the conversations with the Dutchman\u2019s entourage about a switch in 2024 when Lewis Hamilton provided the bombshell that he was heading to Ferrari.<\/p>\n

But while Verstappen elected to remain with Red Bull as he went on to take the Drivers\u2019 title, Wolff expressed the insistence that their \u201cpaths will cross\u201d at some stage.<\/p>\n

Unlike 12 months ago, Verstappen hasn\u2019t nailed his colours to the Red Bull mast, and a decision on where he will be racing in 2026 is anticipated in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

\"GeorgeMax Verstappen is being linked with a switch to Mercedes<\/p>\n

That corroborates with Wolff\u2019s disclosure that he wishes to have the German marque\u2019s 2026 line-up announced prior to the summer break\u2019s conclusion in late August.<\/p>\n

Verstappen\u2019s deal with Red Bull until 2028 does comprise clauses related to his individual position in the Drivers\u2019 Championship that could permit an earlier departure.<\/p>\n

However, La Gazzetta dello Sport has alleged that Kallenius has authorised a swoop to sign Verstappen, regardless, in a deal that could cost as much as \u20ac120 million.<\/p>\n

How would Red Bull progress without Verstappen?<\/p>\n

Red Bull losing Verstappen would be a devastating blow at a time when the side is preparing to embark on a new chapter with an engine that has been built in-house.<\/p>\n

Verstappen has outclassed all his team-mates to devastating degrees since 2019, prompting the second seat at Red Bull to become renowned as a poisoned chalice.<\/p>\n

Yuki Tsunoda, having replaced Liam Lawson two rounds into the current campaign, has endured similar struggles to his predecessor as he is point-less in five rounds.<\/p>\n

But despite being assured that he will complete 2025 with Red Bull, Auto Motor und Sport has published that Tsunoda is primed to be released once the season ends.<\/p>\n

\"RacingRed Bull\u2019s driver roster is poised to have a shake-up in 2026<\/p>\n

Instead, Tsunoda\u2019s starting team-mate this season, Isack Hadjar, is braced to have his heroics in his rookie F1 campaign with Racing Bulls rewarded with a promotion.<\/p>\n

The Frenchman moving up isn\u2019t said to be dependent on what happens with Verstappen, though the reigning F1 champion leaving would not hand Tsunoda a reprieve.<\/p>\n

Likewise, Lawson is poised to continue with Racing Bulls into 2026<\/a>, where he will be the experienced driver alongside another up-and-coming rookie in Arvid Lindblad.<\/p>\n

That would ensure that Red Bull \u2013 should Verstappen proceed to agree a move to Mercedes \u2013 resorts to evaluating the drivers outside the organisation\u2019s current stable.<\/p>\n

According to AMuS, George Russell headlines the options that could succeed Verstappen as doubts circulate over whether Mercedes will extend the Briton\u2019s contract.<\/p>\n

But with Wolff not having ruled out partnering Russell along with Verstappen, Red Bull also has contingencies in place, such as ex-drivers Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz, who Red Bull chose to overlook when he was available last term in order to renew Sergio Perez\u2019s deal, is also regarded as a viable candidate.<\/p>\n

READ MORE \u2013<\/strong> Max Verstappen denies doubt over 2026 Red Bull F1 prospects behind Mercedes talks<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mercedes CEO Ola Kallenius has reportedly given the \u201cgreen light\u201d to a bid to sign Max Verstappen in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":268366,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4103],"tags":[4199,707,4200,1073,4859,43848,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-268365","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-f1","8":"tag-f1","9":"tag-formula-1","10":"tag-formula1","11":"tag-max-verstappen","12":"tag-mercedes","13":"tag-redbull","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114866631971464023","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268365\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/268366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}