Where will Verstappen drive in 2026?

Verstappen could also be headed to a different team next season. The biggest off-track topic in F1 over the last month has been Verstappen’s future as rumors swirl that Mercedes could be interested in signing him. Verstappen has a deal with Red Bull through the 2028 season, but numerous reports have suggested that he has a performance clause in his contract that would allow him to leave the team after the season.

Mercedes, meanwhile, is no stranger to big signings. The team stunned F1 over a decade ago when it signed Lewis Hamilton from McLaren not long after it re-entered F1. That partnership turned out to be incredibly fruitful, as Hamilton dominated the 2010s and won six titles with Mercedes.

Verstappen has refused to talk about his future publicly while Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has confirmed the team’s interest in signing Verstappen if he were to be available. George Russell also made it clear in Austria that Verstappen could be an option for the team next season as he negotiates a new deal with the team himself. Russell’s contract expires at the end of 2025 as he’s currently fourth in the standings and 18 points back of Verstappen.

Russell has maximized Mercedes’ car over the past few seasons as the team has fallen from its heights with Hamilton in the previous generation of car build. But Mercedes is rumored to have the best engine ahead of a 2026 season full of rule changes for both engines and chassis and it could quickly return to the top of the F1 heap.

If Mercedes could get Verstappen, would it also want to keep Russell? The two aren’t exactly the best of friends and Mercedes promoted 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli to replace Hamilton this season after the seven-time champion went to Ferrari. Antonelli is seventh in the standings and having a season full of predictable rookie struggles so far. However, Russell is still only 27 himself and has four wins in his career.

Complaint against Horner was dismissed in 2024

Horner’s firing comes a year after he kept his job following allegations of inappropriate behavior by a female team employee. The woman filed a complaint against Horner ahead of the 2024 season and it led to an independent investigation. However, that investigation concluded and the complaint was dismissed just before the start of the season as Red Bull kept the results of the investigation confidential.

Verstappen went on to win the title again in 2024 but Perez’s struggles meant that Red Bull didn’t win a third consecutive constructors championship. McLaren took the team title in 2024 as Red Bull finished third behind Ferrari.

The man credited for much of Red Bull’s mechanical dominance also left the team during the season. Car designer Adrian Newey left the team in September to join Aston Martin for the 2025 season and beyond. Newey designed the dominant Red Bull car that helped Verstappen win all but eight races over the 2022 and 2023 seasons. He had been with the team since 2006.

Newey was also credited with designing the car that propelled Sebastian Vettel to four consecutive titles from 2010 through 2013. Much like it did starting in 2022, Red Bull was a step ahead of the competition when new regulations were introduced in 2010 and Vettel reeled off four titles in a row as he won 34 races in that span.

A former driver himself, Horner retired from driving in the late 1990s and got into racing management. He was appointed the team principal at Red Bull in 2005 when the energy drink company bought the assets of the former Jaguar F1 team, and has been the team’s only leader since its inception. In addition to the eight titles won by Vettel and Verstappen during Horner’s tenure, Red Bull won six constructors championships as Perez, Daniel Ricciardo and Mark Webber also scored race wins.