Steiner defends Plooij after Verstappen rumours: 'He must know something'
Red Bull Contentpool
F1 News
- Savannah Lenz
Earlier this month, Jack Plooij said on Ziggo Sport's Racecafé that Max Verstappen signed a contract with Mercedes. This rumour was then firmly denied by Jos Verstappen, the father of the four-time world champion. Günther Steiner states in the Red Flags Podcast that he does not think Plooij would base such a statement on nothing, but does not seem to be convinced by the rumour going around.
In the Red Flags Podcast, Steiner was asked if he thought Verstappen might go to Mercedes one day. He said, "yeah, it can happen easily". Steiner also wanted to say something about his friend, Jack Plooij. "He’s a good friend of mine and he’s very close to the Verstappen family, for a long time, not only since Max is successful in Formula 1." Steiner added, "It’s the good old Dutch racing gang, he’s part of it, Jos and all."
"Jack is my age, he’s not like you young guys coming into Formula 1 wanting to know everything. We actually know everything, Jack and I." He continued, "I need to speak to Jack about how reliable it is what he says, or if it’s just bullshit. We don’t know yet. But obviously, he must have something to say about that. I don’t really know what is said."
Could Verstappen go to Mercedes?
Would Verstappen actually make the switch to Mercedes? "I don’t think that Mercedes can say that they could pay Max a billion, I don’t think that would go down well with Mercedes, so maybe Aston Martin gives him a billion and Max is thinking where he’s going next."
"Mercedes, at the moment, I wouldn’t say it is super performing. Obviously, they’re good, but they’re not where they were three or four years ago, when the talk first started; Max went to Mercedes because Mercedes won everything. For Max it’s more 'I need to go to the places where I can win championships'. That’s what he wants to do. I don’t think he’s in a big hurry to go anywhere. I don’t think he’ll change now for '26, not knowing what '26 brings because it’s completely new for everyone.”
This article was written in collaboration with Kim Hoefnagel.
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