Max Verstappen remains one of the hottest drivers on the short list of many teams, most notably Red Bull’s arch rivals – Mercedes. The Silver Arrows are looking to replace star driver Lewis Hamilton, who joins Ferrari after the end of this season. While Mercedes have still not announced Hamilton’s successor, many believe Kimi Antonelli is rumored to take over the 7-time F1 champion with the announcement coming during the Monza weekend.

However, former F1 boss Eddie Jordan does not rule out Max Verstappen joining Mercedes either. However, he feels Verstappen would be more likely to switch teams in 2026, rather than next year.

Jordan said: (quotes via F1-Insider.com; translated by Google)

“The turmoil at Red Bull, the departures of Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley cannot please Max and his father [Jos],”“In addition, Mercedes has turned the corner and is getting stronger and stronger. I would therefore be anything but surprised if Max switches to Mercedes in 2026.”

Max Verstappen was also linked to a shock move to Aston Martin in recent days. However, that news has also been dismissed by the above-mentioned source.

The Red Bull driver currently leads the championship by 78 points against second-placed Lando Norris. However, Red Bull’s dip in performance paired with McLaren’s recent surge has made things quite complicated in the past few weeks.

Max Verstappen talks about his repetitive media duty schedule

Red Bull star Max Verstappen delivers his verdict on his recent media duties schedule. The 3-time F1 champion called it “repetitive” and admitted that he would struggle in a press conference if he was asked different questions.

Max told in a new series made on him: (Quotes by GP Blog)

“I try not to burn too much energy on it, I guess. I know that’s part of Formula 1 as well, so with some things, you’re like, ‘Okay, whatever, these things have to be done.’ Every weekend is the same which of course makes it quite easy because you’re always talking about the same things,”“It’s very repetitive in a way. I think I would struggle a lot more if suddenly people start asking a lot of new, different questions you are not prepared for.”

Verstappen has been quite regular in the media booth in recent years due to his success. The Dutchman is not looking to slow down anytime soon either as he is the favorite to win the 2024 F1 championship.

However, the fight for the Constructors Championship is gearing up nicely with recent resurgence of Mercedes and McLaren’s consistency.