No Mercedes or Aston Martin for Verstappen? 'I'm not ruling out Ferrari'
Red Bull Contentpool
F1 News
No doubt it will remain one of the main topics of conversation next season: Where will Max Verstappen drive in 2026? Of course, the Dutchman has an ongoing contract until the end of 2028 at Red Bull Racing, but no doubt there are teams looking to sign him again this year.
Much has already been said and written about Verstappen's future. Should Red Bull Racing's RB21 be a winning car, chances are that all rumours will soon die down. If the Austrian team's new car is not a success, stories about Verstappen and his future are bound to continue coming in.
Ralf Schumacher was asked in a German Sky Sports podcast which team Verstappen will eventually join, provided of course the four-time world champion decides to leave Red Bull Racing? The former driver believes the choice between Mercedes and Aston Martin is a tough one.
"Mercedes still has the problem of not knowing which development direction to take. At least that's how it looked in Bahrain. That causes concern. And if both (Russell and Antonelli, ed.) are doing super, it could also be that Toto Wolff doesn't want to victimise anyone anymore," Schumacher believes.
Is this Wolff's trade-off?
Moreover, the analyst says Verstappen's salary is quite expensive. Therefore, "I also ask myself the financial question, Max Verstappen is not very cheap either. If they have two drivers who work, then that (keeping Russell and Antonelli from a cost point of view, ed.) could be an option."
Schumacher says the longer he thinks about it, he thinks Aston Martin is the more logical destination for Verstappen, but doesn't rule out the Prancing Horse. "And the longer he stays at Red Bull, maybe Ferrari? Don't forget them either," the German says, knowing that Lewis Hamilton' s contract at the Scuderia expires in two years.
This article was written in collaboration with Ludo van Denderen.
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