Now Verstappen and Ricciardo are the protagonists in the ongoing storm

It seemed quiet for just a while around Max Verstappen and Mercedes. It was revealed last week that Mercedes no longer sees the triple world champion as an option for 2025. So Mercedes switched gears and are likely to announce Andrea Kimi Antonelli at Monza as George Russell's teammate for 2025.

Yet calm did not quite return. Wolff told several media outlets about the talks with Verstappen's camp during the summer break. Those talks would have made it clear that Verstappen is not an option for 2025, but that does not alter the fact that the door is still open for 2026.

Has Max Verstappen spoken to Toto Wolff?

Christian Horner reacted irritated that his rival had once again spoken out about Verstappen. ''Max knows what his agreement with us is. He is definitely not available for Mercedes, never has been,'' the Red Bull Racing team boss made clear.

Verstappen has a contract at Red Bull Racing until 2028 and the fact that the side letter was scrapped from Helmut Marko's contract made a departure for Verstappen more difficult. On the other hand, Horner has said since the start of 2024 that no one is bigger than the team, and he will not stop anyone if they really do not want to be part of the team anymore.

Verstappen himself had clearly resolved not to comment on Toto's statements. Verstappen stated that he could not remember those conversations at the press conference in Zandvoort. When asked if Toto Wolff would not be better off minding his own business, Verstappen stood up for Wolff:

''No, everyone can say what they want and I get on very well with Toto. I think he's very open about what's happening within his team. Also, I think with the driver lineup and stuff there's nothing wrong with that and at the same time I just focus on my job there's a lot to do anyway, so we just focus on that.''

It is not Christian Horner's only case that causes a headache. The team boss decided to keep Sergio Perez in Red Bull Racing's second seat. Perez was considerably slower than Verstappen but did get through to Q3 and performed somewhat as expected with a fifth place. So, a storm that may be over for now.

For Perez, it was also positive that his intended successor dissapointed. Daniel Ricciardo did not make it through to Q2 and was mainly to blame. He was four tenths slower than teammate Yuki Tsunoda in the first qualifying segment.

Ricciardo was already under a magnifying glass before qualifying. Helmut Marko had made himself heard again. Initially that Liam Lawson would drive a Red Bull car in 2025, the Austrian later corrected that saying the New Zealander will drive in F1 in 2025 anyway. With Verstappen, Perez and Tsunoda under contract, that immediately puts a magnifying glass on Ricciardo.

Will Daniel Ricciardo still be driving for Red Bull in 2025?

That the one in the Netherlands of all places did not start well will only add to the pressure. After all, Red Bull has a decision to make. Liam Lawson's contract states that he can race for another team if he has not been offered a seat by Red Bull by September. Audi, which is the only team that still has a seat available for 2025, seems to be the only candidate for Lawson if Red Bull does not offer him a chance.

Ricciardo's dejected attitude after qualifying spoke volumes. GPblog asked Ricciardo if all the stories and questions about his future are a distraction in such a race weekend, Ricciardo initially responded in the negative: ''No, it's not a distraction.''

''Honestly, I know what is on the line. I know what I need to do and I'm not going to be able to do it. It's frustrating when you feel like you can't really, like, you know, you want to drive quali in anger. I felt that at times I was just having to be a little bit too, too nice. And then when you're slow as well, when you're nice and slow, then it's frustrating.''

''It just wasn't a nice session. Let's say that. But every qualy is going to be important. Every race is going to be important. So whether it's me, whether it's the car, whatever it is, the bottom line is Q1 is not good enough. So yeah, I have to accept that and do better.''

For Ricciardo, it's all or nothing. The Australian already revealed on Thursday that he is not in talks with other teams. He is good enough for Red Bull or it is no more F1 at all. A qualifying session like the one at Zandvoort will make it faster to become the second option.