Ted Kravitz has revealed how Max Verstappen’s camp really feels about Mercedes’ car for the 2026 Formula 1 regulations, with Toto Wolff still targeting the Red Bull driver.
The Silver Arrows are still pushing a move to Brackley for Verstappen as Wolff vies to replace Lewis Hamilton. One seat remains available in Mercedes’ garage for next season after Ferrari signed the seven-time drivers’ champion. Hamilton will leave Mercedes at the close of 2024.
Mercedes have been searching for Hamilton’s replacement since the start of February when the 39-year-old signed a multi-year contract with Ferrari. But Wolff has wanted the arrival of no one more than Verstappen as the 26-year-old has release clauses in his deal at Red Bull.
Max Verstappen’s camp thinks Mercedes will have the best car for F1’s 2026 regulations
Kravitz notes that Verstappen can leave Red Bull if he wants to thanks to an exit clause in the contract they agreed to in 2022. The Dutchman is tied up through the 2028 season but can also move away from Milton Keynes if Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko goes first.
Verstappen’s contract includes similar terms to those Sebastian Vettel used to leave Red Bull for Ferrari as a four-time drivers’ champion in 2015. But the Dutchman is yet to decide if the right option for his career is to join Mercedes in 2025 in view of having the best car in 2026.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about F1’s 2026 engine and chassis regulations
Formula 1 will undergo its most radical regulation change ever in 2026 with new engine and chassis regulations. And Kravitz notes that some in Verstappen’s camp believe Mercedes will have the best car in 2026. But Wolff is now likely to promote Andrea Kimi Antonelli, instead.
“It’s the same kind of contract that Sebastian Vettel had at Red Bull, which allowed him to go to Ferrari,” Kravitz said on Sky Sports F1’s podcast. “It is more or less the same thing with get-out clauses either way that Max Verstappen has.
“But in a sense, the only person that Verstappen needs to worry about in his freedom to move to Mercedes, if he believes – which we believe that some of the Verstappen camp do – that Mercedes will be the best place for the new rules set in 2026.
“The only thing that Max has to worry about whether he needs to get in that seat early is a 17-year-old Italian called Kimi Antonelli. So, if Max sees the possibility of not getting in that seat and making it harder for himself in 2026, then that’s the only reason why Max might at the end of this year or the beginning of next say, ‘I would like to go to Mercedes’.”
Mercedes are open to paying Max Verstappen £126m a year
Antonelli is expected to replace Hamilton at Mercedes in 2025 as Verstappen is yet to take up Wolff’s serious play for him. Reports by Sport.de note the Silver Arrows see him as their dream signing with Mercedes even prepared to target Marko to convince Verstappen, too.
Marko is the motorsport advisor for Red Bull’s parent company and also heads their young driver programme. The Austrian also has a close relationship with Verstappen and his camp after guiding his rise from Formula Renault 3.5, to F1 and becoming a three-time champion.
READ MORE: Who is Mercedes academy driver Antonelli? Everything you need to know
Signing Marko would give Mercedes a clear route to coaxing Verstappen away from Red Bull to replace Hamilton, too. But Wolff is expected to promote Mercedes junior driver Antonelli to be teammates with George Russell next season with Verstappen likely to stay at Red Bull.
Additionally, F1-Insider reported that Mercedes are open to paying Verstappen up to €150m (£126m) a year. The Brackley outfit lined up an ambassadorial role for the Dutchman but he always prioritised the package the Silver Arrows may put on the grid come the 2025 season.
The post ‘We believe’: Kravitz shares how Verstappen camp really feels about Mercedes’ 2026 F1 car appeared first on F1 Oversteer.