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Guenther Steiner is adamant that Max Verstappen is now regretting his decision to snub Toto Wolff’s offer of a Mercedes drive amid his ongoing unrest at Red Bull.
Links between a potential Mercedes switch for Max Verstappen have been rampant throughout his highly successful F1 career, with rumours ramping up last season in the midst of his unhappiness at Red Bull during Christian Horner’s final months at the team.
George Russell later confirmed that Mercedes were in talks with Verstappen over a potential drive, which sent F1 fans into pandemonium as they touted the prospect of the four-time world champion joining his arch-rivals.
However, following an uptick in performance from Red Bull last year, Verstappen’s qualms were eased. The Austrian constructor managed to give him a car capable of challenging for the 2025 title, and all was well in the Verstappen camp.
Fast forward just a few more months, and the Milton Keynes-based F1 outfit are back to square one with the Dutchman, only now an exit looks even more likely after a breakdown in the relationship between Verstappen and Red Bull’s top brass.
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Guenther Steiner says Max Verstappen definitely ‘regrets’ not taking Toto Wolff’s Mercedes offer
With both seats at Mercedes now looking to be held by Russell and the current championship leader, Kimi Antonelli, for the foreseeable future, it’s looking increasingly likely that Toto Wolff will stick with the same driver line-up in order to keep the equilibrium at the team.
It’s certainly not impossible, however, but that hasn’t stopped former F1 boss Guenther Steiner from opining that Verstappen is currently kicking himself for not taking Wolff up on his offer last year.
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“I’m sure he regrets it, absolutely,” the Italian told The Red Flags Podcast. “It was during all these negotiations that Mercedes were doing with George, it was not long ago.
“The alternative would have been Max there, but Max just wasn’t sure what was happening in the future and then it got away from him. The chance would have been then and there.
“He could have got out of the contract that year, but he was convinced to stay where he is, and he waited until the new regulations came. Now, obviously, it looks like it’s too late.”
Verstappen was reported to have had two different clauses in play that could have helped him facilitate a move to Mercedes last year. The first being a performance-related clause, with the second regarding whether Helmut Marko remained at the team or not.
Of course, neither ended up being triggered, and Steiner is also adamant that Verstappen is simply bluffing and will remain at Red Bull until the expiration of his contract in 2028.
He added, “He’s staying. That’s my opinion. He’s staying; he’s a racer. What he needs to do is try to motivate his people so they can give him the car, because the car wasn’t bad [at the British GP], performance-wise.”
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Steiner also frets that Verstappen may not get the same amount of freedom at another team on the grid if he was to take the plunge and move across the pit lane, continuing with, “They know that he has got these tantrums and then he comes back and wants to win races.
“He won a lot for them. Knowing that he would go into a new team and behave like this would maybe have some negative effects, but he’s been there since forever. The people close to him know him and why he’s like this, because he’s so disappointed that he doesn’t win.
“In the end, he’s very critical about everything, but the only reason is because he wants to win. If he goes into Mercedes and acts like this, they will be saying, ‘Buddy, that doesn’t fly here.’”
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