(Motorsport-Total.com) – Will Max Verstappen also start for Red Bull in the 2027 Formula 1 season? Although the Dutchman still has a contract with the Bulls until the end of 2028, rumors appear every year that the four-time world champion could leave the team prematurely.
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But what options would Verstappen realistically have? “If Max moves elsewhere, he naturally wants to go to a team that is better than Red Bull. And there aren’t many teams that are better than Red Bull,” explains former Formula 1 team boss Günther Steiner in the podcast Up To Speed.
“Maybe Red Bull is not currently where they would like to be – namely at the top, as they were a few years ago – but they are still among the top four teams,” Steiner reminds. That means: Verstappen could at most move to Mercedes, Ferrari, or McLaren.
But Steiner emphasizes: “At Ferrari, the seats are taken. At Mercedes, I believe they have now found the next Max Verstappen. So maybe they don’t need the real Max Verstappen at the moment.” A reference to championship leader Kimi Antonelli.
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Verstappen has repeatedly been linked primarily with Mercedes in the past, but because a driver from their own junior program, Antonelli, is now leading the world championship there, the door for Verstappen might have closed there.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff made it clear to Sky a few weeks ago anyway: “We don’t want any changes. I am satisfied with our two drivers. This driver pairing is good for us.”
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McLaren as the “only option” for Verstappen?
Steiner therefore concludes that McLaren is “the only option” for Verstappen if he wants to leave Red Bull for the 2027 season. “And I don’t know if that option even exists,” emphasizes the long-time Haas team boss.
McLaren boss Zak Brown also made it clear before the summer break that he is “very satisfied” with his current drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. That is why expert Timo Glock explained in the podcast Starting Grid that he also does not believe in a Verstappen move.
One has to “wait and see” how the market develops, but according to the current situation, the former Formula 1 driver suspects “that [Verstappen] will continue to stay at Red Bull because simply the options are probably not as available as he would like.”
“There are always various small fires that get ignited, which keep the topic bubbling up again and again,” says Glock, who emphasizes: “I’ll be surprised, but my gut feeling says he stays at Red Bull.”
At least with regard to the four top teams, this could mean a complete standstill in the driver market, because Glock explains: “In the end, everything stands and falls with [Verstappen].” And there the chances of a move currently do not seem overly large.
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