Max Verstappen has been intermittently linked with Mercedes (Image: Getty)
Former F1 ace Juan Pablo Montoya believes that will swap for at some point over the coming years. The Dutchman’s future looks stable for now, but if the Milton Keynes squad fail to hand him a car capable of fighting for titles, he may get itchy feet.
Verstappen won his fourth consecutive Drivers’ Championship title in 2024, but this crown was won in spite of his team, rather than thanks to them. The 27-year-old won just two of the final 14 races, and one of those was a remarkable wet-weather performance, aided by a fortunately-timed red flag.
ended the campaign third in the Constructors’ Championship standings, sparking fears that Verstappen will be unable to fight for his fifth consecutive title when the 2025 season gets underway. If this is the case then he may need to look elsewhere for his F1 future.
“I think will end up leaving in a couple of years,” former BMW star Montoya told . “He won’t leave the sport. It’s the ultimate. He’ll leave . He doesn’t have it that difficult.
“Yes, it’s hard because he works really hard. He has a stable job. And he kind of controls a lot of what happens. The big question is, is Max willing to play cool if 2026 is bad?
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Montoya believes that Verstappen will eventually join Mercedes (Image: Getty)
“You know, if comes with the powertrains and it’s not where it needs to be, is Max going to be happy running tenth? No. And comes with an offer, he is going to jump ship straight away.
“It’s very easy to be loyal when you win in races. If I was in his shoes for sure I would be looking at that already. It would surprise me if he’s not. Publicly he would say, ’No way,’ but internally I would be surprised if a conversation was not going on.”
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While would no doubt love to have the four-time world champion on board, matters have been complicated after Verstappen’s war of words with at the final two races of the 2024 season in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
The Dutchman called ’ new team leader a “backstabber” and a “loser” after a qualifying infringement resulted in a one-place grid penalty, while Russell hit back at his rival, labelling him a “bully” who “cannot handle adversity”.