‘A lot of people’ around Max Verstappen have made it clear which team they want him to race for in 2026

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Max Verstappen’s inner sanctum has three members. Alongside the Red Bull driver, there’s his manager Raymond Vermeulen and his father Jos.

It’s been suggested that Verstappen Sr is circulating the recent Mercedes rumours. His motivation for doing so is unclear.

He may genuinely want his son to join the Silver Arrows, or he may have been trying to put Christian Horner under pressure. Jos Verstappen clashed with Horner at the British GP, which proved to be the final race of his tenure.

Vermeulen intends to keep a close eye on Red Bull after Horner’s sacking. That indicates that the seismic regime change hasn’t assuaged the world champion’s concerns.

Max Verstappen allies are pushing him to join Mercedes

Viaplay F1 commentator Nelson Valkenburg believes that Jos Verstappen has been angling for his son to join Mercedes long-term. But the driver himself has made clear that he’s ‘in charge’.

Verstappen views Red Bull as his ‘family’ but there are ‘rumblings’ that he could soon reach an agreement with Mercedes. Valkenburg views this with a degree of scepticism, though, because many of his allies have an ulterior motive.

‘A lot of people around Verstappen’ want him to leave Red Bull for the Silver Arrows. While he’ll no doubt take that into account, he won’t let it dictate his decision.

“Bringing it back to Mercedes, of course they’re getting closer and closer,” Valkenburg said. “We’ve been hearing rumblings that we might have to prepare for some sort of press event in Spa. But that’s so unconfirmed, it’s one of those rumours where I’ll wait and see.

“There are a lot of people who are willing this on because change is good. A lot of people around Verstappen also want this change.

“The fact that he hasn’t jumped ship earlier is because he was very confident in Red Bull. I know for a fact that there were a lot of people around them, and I think Jos was amongst them, wanted this move, this flirtation with Mercedes, earlier.

“There were people pushing [him] to have this conversation two years ago, or a year ago. And he held that off. I’m certain he stuck with Red Bull because it’s family.

“The fact that he made that conversation go away at that point tells me that he’s in charge. Max is in charge of what happens with Raymond, what happens with Jos.”

Aston Martin could offer Max Verstappen the same financial incentive as Adrian Newey

Mercedes are setting up a Le Mans project, which could be important. Their top target dreams of racing in the iconic 24-hour event.

If Wolff allows Verstappen to compete in events outside Formula 1, he may be even more tempted to join. A Le Mans entry won’t be possible next year due to a clash with the Spanish GP.

Aston Martin have also been linked with Verstappen, but they’re less appealing than Mercedes right now. They need to prove that their headline-grabbing recruitment drive, which saw them land Adrian Newey, will deliver results on track.

Lawrence Stroll will reportedly pay Verstappen ‘whatever he wants’ to join. If he opts to stay put for 2026, then Aston will have more time to impress him.

Newey received shares in the team when he joined, and it’s feasible that Verstappen is offered the same incentive.