Max Verstappen has achieved so much in Formula 1, thanks to Red Bull. When he joined the Austrian outfit, it was the time of the “Mercedes Era.” Sir Lewis Hamilton was the most dominant racer on the grid. He was on his way to achieve the ultimate greatness. The great British racer went on to win seven titles by 2020. He won the most races in F1 history. No other racer besides Hamilton has managed to win 100 or more Grands Prix. Currently, Hamilton’s race win tally has paused to 103 GP wins. Since 2022, the seven-time champion has been winless. It is because, since then, Red Bull has started to dominate the grid like it has never seen before.
The F1 Calendar keeps adding more races to it every year. But it just does not matter to the Milton Keynes outfit. After all, it seems they have found the secret ingredient to maintain consistency in terms of performance. Max Verstappen has been phenomenal in the last three years. Since 2022, he has already won 38 races, and Red Bull has won 42 GPs so far after the Chinese GP this year. Clearly, there seems to be no reason why Max would think about switching to Mercedes at the moment if he really focuses on winning races.
Why Max Verstappen Can Switch To Mercedes?
Albeit, there is no scenario a fan can think of why Max should leave Red Bull to join Mercedes, an F1 pundit has come up with a possible situation. At present, Mercedes is fighting for a fifth or sixth-place finish in the 2024 season. On the other hand, Max Verstappen is on his way to winning his fourth F1 championship this year. Hence, there is no reason why Max would want to leave a winning team. Lately, David Croft, a Sky Sports F1 commentator, mentioned one unique situation that can change things.
If somehow the Dutch racer came across the information that suggests the Mercedes 2026 engine is a lot like Mercedes 2014, he might think about leaving Red Bull. On the latest Sky Sports F1 podcast episode, David Croft mentioned there is no other reason why Max can think about going to the Silver Arrows. But Croft said he doesn’t know how Max can know if Mercedes 2026 engines are as powerful as their 2014 generation. Nevertheless, Croft wonders why anyone would give up on a winning thing. Moreover, there is no guarantee from the outside that Toto Wolff’s team will be really fast in 2026.
When Red Bull Is A Winning Thing, “Why Change That?”
Toto Wolff told the media in China, including PlanetF1, that “Factors other than the car” can determine Max Verstappen’s future. The investigation into Christian Horner was a catalyst for Wolff’s pursuit of Verstappen. Even the Mercedes boss said that at present, the quickest car is in the hands of the quickest racer. However, that’s not the only reason for Wolff to think Max will stay where he is.
The Austrian billionaire feels Max Verstappen has a lot more depth to consider other factors too. Nevertheless, Spanish F1 journalist Albert Fabrega wonders why the three-time champion would swap the Milton Keynes outfit for a team that’s trying to finish at P5 or P6. Speaking on the F1 Nation Podcast, Fabrega said he just does not know why such swap can happen because he himself would never want to leave a winning car.
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