During the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, both George Russell and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff had confirmed that Mercedes and Max Verstappen were exploring the possibilities of a future partnership. Later that Tuesday evening, Sky Italia reported that the Dutch world champion had given his approval for a transfer, as he could be freed thanks to a contractual clause. The last major obstacle reportedly was some reluctance from the Mercedes board regarding the enormous salary Verstappen would command and the decision not to renew with George Russell, who is a product of the Mercedes academy.
However, this news quickly spread across social media and the internet, and in the usual uncontrolled rumors, it turned into a rushed “done deal” narrative bouncing from one account to another.
As previously reported by De Telegraaf, the negotiation — if it can even be called that — is still far from the stage of an official offer and therefore from any possible conclusion.
Helmut Marko, the Austrian Red Bull advisor, expressed his clear frustration with all the speculation in an interview with the Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung. He stated emphatically: “Max has not signed and cannot sign either.” As he has repeatedly emphasized in recent weeks, Max Verstappen currently holds a valid contract with Red Bull until 2028, and the buyout clause is not currently active, as the Dutch driver is third in the World Championship standings.
“This is becoming nerve-wracking,” Marko said angrily, continuing: “The same questions keep coming up and we keep giving the same answers because nothing has changed.” The Red Bull advisor also dispelled rumors about Yuki Tsunoda being dropped during this championship: “The plan is for him to finish the season, nothing has changed. We don’t even have alternatives. We spoke with him and his engineers. At Spielberg, he was completely out of shape.”
Leave a Reply