Max Verstappen to Mercedes “not dead in the water yet” as rumours surface again

Rumours of Max Verstappen joining Mercedes resurfaced during the Monaco Grand Prix F1 weekend, according to Sky’s David Croft.

Verstappen to Mercedes has been a recurring talking point in the wake of the turmoil surrounding Red Bull this year.

It started during the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend following the fallout surrounding Christian Horner and the investigation into his alleged inappropriate behaviour.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has been publicly vocal in his interest in Verstappen, with the team as a whole hyping up how competitive they will be when the new 2026 rules are introduced.

Speaking on the latest episode of the Sky F1 podcast, Croft suggested that the appearance of Jos Verstappen - Max’s father - sparked more rumours about a possible move.

“Let’s go back to Monaco where the Verstappen to Mercedes rumours started being talked about again,” Croft said. “Now, I am not sure what’s changed since the opening race of the season and Monaco so that it all went a bit quiet in between and then someone might have come to the race in Monaco that we hadn’t seen at the track for a while that might be quite close to Max Verstappen. Mentioning no names on that one but the rumours started again on that one.”

Croft claimed that he had received a number of text messages over the Monaco weekend stating that Verstappen to Mercedes isn’t “dead in the water yet”.

“You get the impression, and I had a couple of wonderful text messages over the Monaco weekend from people who’d heard Jos talking and saying ‘Max going to Mercedes, you know, that’s not dead in the water yet’,” he added.

“It’s quite clear that there’s still a bit of a ground that needs to be resolved in that particular conversation.

“Logically, Max stays exactly where he is. But when has logic ever formed part of a discussion on this one? Especially in F1.”

In terms of Red Bull’s on-track form, they’ve failed to win two of the last three races.

Even though they top both championships, their lead has been cut significantly due to their struggles on bumpy street circuits.

Sky’s Simon Lazenby thinks Red Bull’s dip in performance makes it a “shaky” situation for the team.

“For Red Bull this is as shaky it’s been for a couple of years hasn’t it? If you’re trying to keep your top man and all of a sudden it’s looking like it’s got a baked-in problem they can’t get around with setup changes which is what is going on with this RB20,” Lazenby added. 

“They’re going OK, keeping an eye on the engine project, seeing what’s happening and Toto’s absolutely, rightfully keeping an eye on it, holding out for as long as he can.

“We’re nearing a point now that it's more likely if I was a betting man to say it’s Antonelli going into Mercedes and Verstappen staying.”