The key to the current driver’s market is Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, who seeks a new seat on the grid after being let go in place of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
He appears to have two main options on the table for 2025, join Sauber before they become the Audi works team in 2026, or link up with James Vowles and Alex Albon at Williams.
However, although more than half of the grid knows where they’ll be driving next year, the market could be thrown into disarray by one man: Max Verstappen.
The triple world champion is signed up with Red Bull until the end of the 2028 Formula 1 season.
That doesn’t mean there haven’t been suggestions that all is not well between the Verstappen camp and Red Bull this year.
Ted Kravitz was speaking on the Sky Sports F1 Podcast about Verstappen’s future.
He’s now suggested one reason why the 26-year-old could decide to leave the current Constructors’ champions and head to Mercedes for 2025.
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Ted Kravitz shares why Max Verstappen might decide to leave Red Bull at the end of 2024
After nine race weekends, the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships are looking very rosy for Max Verstappen and Red Bull.
The Dutchman is 56 points clear of his closest rival – Charles Leclerc – and has only missed out on victory on three occasions this year.
Red Bull looked in a little bit of trouble after the race in Monaco with Sergio Perez struggling to keep up with his teammate, but a double DNF for Ferrari in Canada has extended their lead to 49 points.
However, this is a backwards step compared to last year when both Verstappen and Red Bull were utterly dominant.
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The grid is beginning to converge ahead of an important set of rule changes coming in 2026.
Martin Brundle has heard good things coming from Red Bull Powertrains but Verstappen will know better than anybody how developments are going within the team.
He’s in the strongest position of power on the grid at this stage and if he gets the sense that Red Bull might not be well positioned for the next era of F1, then he may have to move sooner rather than later.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff hasn’t hidden his desire to sign Verstappen.
However, that would complicate their driver situation with George Russell already signed up for next year and Wolff very keen on putting youngster Kimi Antonelli in the car.
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Max Verstappen in the ultimate position of power in Formula 1
Talking about the 26-year-old’s future, Kravitz said: “The only thing Max [Verstappen] has to worry about, whether he needs to get his bottom in that seat early, is an 18-year-old, no, not quite 18, 17-year-old Italian, called Kimi Antonelli, who Toto Wolff hasn’t decided whether he’s going to take his seat.
“So if Max sees the possibility of not getting in that seat and making it harder for himself in 2026 because Antonelli and [George] Russell are already in the team, then that’s the only reason why Max might, at the end of this year or towards the end of this year, or even beginning of next, say, okay, Helmut [Marko] is off if he is if that’s the mechanism he chooses to leave, I would like to go to Mercedes, that’s what I’m going to do.”
It would be a huge surprise to see Verstappen decide to leave Red Bull now and Kravitz did give him a ‘99%’ chance of staying with his current team for next year.
However, much stranger things have happened in Formula 1 and reigning champions switching teams happens more often than many people realise.
Verstappen’s full concentration will be on winning the Spanish Grand Prix and earning a fourth straight title.
But sooner rather than later, he’ll have to start thinking about where his long-term future on the grid lies.
The post ‘The only thing’: Ted Kravitz shares the one reason why Max Verstappen might leave Red Bull in 2024 appeared first on F1 Oversteer.