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Juan Pablo Montoya thinks Max Verstappen would not be threatening to retire from F1 if Red Bull built a better car, so a move to Mercedes is “more likely” than him leaving.
Mercedes have long held an interest in signing Verstappen, as team chief Toto Wolff tried to secure the Dutchman before Red Bull had even offered him a route to Formula 1. Yet Wolff’s ongoing efforts to finally see Verstappen race for Mercedes have so far proven unsuccessful.
A door may now be opening, though, as Verstappen admitted that he must “figure out” his future in F1 after qualifying at Suzuka. His frustrations with the 2026 F1 engine regulations have continued to eat away at the 28-year-old amid Red Bull’s substandard start to the year.
Verstappen also claimed he needs to decide “is it worth it?” to stay in F1 beyond 2026, with retirement potentially on the cards. Verstappen will have from August to October to use the release clause in his contract with Red Bull through 2028, should it become available to him.
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Juan Pablo Montoya tips Max Verstappen to join Mercedes in 2027 over retiring from F1
Wolff publicly ruled out Mercedes signing Verstappen for 2027 ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix. But the Dutchman’s remarks after qualifying and the race at Suzuka have put his future back under the spotlight, and it is said that Wolff is almost certain to try to sign Verstappen.
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Montoya has no doubt that Verstappen would not be threatening to retire from F1 had Red Bull developed a better car for the start of the 2026 regulations. So, he is also confident that a switch to Mercedes would be “more likely” than retirement, if Verstappen leaves Red Bull.
“In the position Max is in right now – were he winning races, he would not care about the regulations,” Montoya told AS. “The problem is that he knows the position he’s in right now isn’t ideal. I see him more likely to be in a Mercedes next year than retired.
“Right now, he’s doing races where he’s faster than everyone else, but a long way off the fastest cars. So, for him, a race right now is either driving a car that is not competitive or trailing behind [Pierre] Gasly for the whole race, as happened to him before.
“So, from his point of view, it’s exactly like a guy he’s beaten his whole life and now he’s got nothing to beat him with, it’s very frustrating. So, in my opinion, part of his frustration is down to the rules, that’s understandable, but part of it is also down to the position he’s in.
“It’s that you go from winning races every year and being competitive every year, and people seeing you as the great Max Verstappen that he is, to being in a position he’s never been in before, a position where, on a good day, he finishes seventh or eighth, if the Alpine is faster, which is what’s happened to him in the last few races.”
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Ahead of what became a revealing weekend at Suzuka, Montoya had also suggested that he thinks Verstappen is already in talks with Mercedes about a move for 2027 after seeing how well the Silver Arrows have started the 2026 regulations cycle, while Red Bull are struggling.
Mercedes duo Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell lead the F1 drivers’ standings over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 24 and 15 points after the first three rounds. Verstappen is only ninth in the standings with 12 points, three fewer than Alpine ace Gasly has so far secured.
Verstappen only has to be outside the top two in the standings at the summer break to seal the right to terminate his Red Bull contract. And with reports emerging that Red Bull do not have the money to improve the RB22, it is very likely that Verstappen will get the right to go.
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