Max Verstappen being courted
From time to time, the Formula 1 paddock reignites the discussion around Max Verstappen’s future. The underwhelming performance of the RB21 — kept afloat in the championship mainly by the Dutchman’s talent — has opened the door to various scenarios. Despite his contract expiring at the end of 2028, at least two teams have expressed genuine interest in Verstappen: Aston Martin and Mercedes.
While Lawrence Stroll’s team currently appears to be in serious trouble, Mercedes is surprisingly emerging as the second strongest team on the grid. The line-up of George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli is young, talented, and so far delivering results for Toto Wolff’s squad. For this reason, according to former driver and Sky Sports F1 pundit Karun Chandhok, the Silver Arrows might even choose to stay out of the bidding war for the four-time world champion.
A pairing that works
“If we had to pick the best performers from the first five race weekends, the top three would probably be Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen, and George Russell,” said Karun Chandhok, highlighting the British driver’s strong start to the season — always finishing in the top 5 so far, including three podiums. On the other side of the garage, it would be unwise to give up on Antonelli’s talent. According to Karun Chandhok, the Italian could take inspiration from Oscar Piastri’s development path.
“Toto is probably encouraged by the way Oscar has progressed over the past two years, because it shows how difficult it is for a rookie — not in terms of outright speed, but tyre management and everything else that being an F1 driver entails,” Karun Chandhok added. “Looking at the step Oscar made from 2023 to 2024 and then from 2024 to 2025 — if Kimi Antonelli takes a similar step, then George and Antonelli form a strong enough pairing. It would probably cost much less than having to pay Max a salary with a bunch of zeroes,” he concluded ahead of the Miami Grand Prix.
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