Max Verstappen is refusing to do one thing ‘internally’ at Red Bull amid ongoing interest from Mercedes

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Max Verstappen has had to field a number of different questions during the build-up to the Belgian Grand Prix, but has refused to discuss one of the major talking points of the last few weeks.

Since Christian Horner’s immediate dismissal from Red Bull at the start of July, rumours have swirled surrounding Max Verstappen‘s commitment to the team.

Mercedes emerged as frontrunners for the reigning champion’s signature, putting Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s future at the team into question during his rookie season.

With the Belgian Grand Prix being the first F1 race weekend without Horner at the Red Bull helm since the team’s introduction to the sport in 2005, questions that have been on the backs of everyone’s minds were finally asked on Thursday during the grid’s media duties.

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Max Verstappen hasn’t discussed his future plans with leadership at Red Bull

According to a report from De Telegraaf, journalist Erik van Haren believes that leadership within Red Bull would love ‘nothing more’ than the four-time world champion publicly declaring his intentions to remain loyal to the Austrian constructor until at least the end of his contract.

However, Verstappen hasn’t explicitly said that publicly, and the report suggests that the Dutchman hasn’t even said it ‘internally’ to the members of management.

The reasons for this are clear. He wants to see if the engineering and design team can make ‘meaningful progress’ on the current car as well as the upcoming 2026 challenger, which is being built in line with the new regulations.

Another reason that the report notes is the ‘possibility’ of Verstappen making the move to Mercedes due to an unconfirmed performance clause he has in his current contract. It was previously reported that the move to Mercedes is being kept ‘in the back of his mind’.

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Toto Wolff has said George Russell and Kimi Antonelli remain his ‘top priority’

The rumours linking Max Verstappen to Mercedes have caused quite the stir within the ranks of the German constructor as well. The links have posed the question of which current Mercedes driver will be ousted if the Brackley-based team are able to acquire the Dutchman as soon as 2026.

The current belief in the F1 paddock is that Mercedes are poised to announce extensions for George Russell and Kimi Antonelli. Both drivers are out of contract at the end of the current season, hence the intense talks on their future at the team in recent weeks.

However, the report from De Telegraaf notes that Toto Wolff needs to keep his current driver pairing ‘happy’ and ‘maintain stability’ at the team. Wolff hasn’t given up on the idea of signing Verstappen, but he understands that Verstappen is likely to remain with Red Bull until the end of 2026, at least.

A season under the new regulations for the four-time world champion will give him a good enough idea of where he will want to be racing in the future.