Max Verstappen told Mercedes rivals will ‘definitely’ be interested in signing him after 2026

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Although Max Verstappen’s immediate future has been resolved, that doesn’t mean it won’t be a topic of conversation next season.

Max Verstappen is extremely unlikely to add to his four drivers’ championships this season, with McLaren’s pace advantage over Red Bull too great for even the Dutchman to overcome.

That led to a lot of speculation that Verstappen could join Mercedes, with Toto Wolff a huge fan of the 27-year-old.

However, even though George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli haven’t agreed on new contracts yet, it’s expected that they will both still be racing for Mercedes in 2026.

The F1 driver market gets far more interesting next year, with the sport’s new regulations taking effect.

Nobody knows which team will be at the front of the pack next season, but if it isn’t Red Bull, then Verstappen will once again be considering his options.

There are also several drivers who might be questioning whether to continue racing if they’re not in championship contention, and one of those is Ferrari star Lewis Hamilton.

Veteran journalist Reginaldo Leme has now suggested that if Hamilton decides to walk away, Fred Vasseur’s team will be ready to swoop in and offer the four-time world champion the chance to leave Red Bull.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Ferrari will ‘definitely’ be interested in Max Verstappen if Lewis Hamilton walks away from F1

Leme was speaking on his YouTube channel about Verstappen’s future and explained: “So what’s up with Verstappen? He is playing [the market] because he knows that 2026 is a much better opportunity.

“He has several options, and of course, negotiations with Toto Wolff will continue.

“You saw they got very close during the conversation phase, what is he waiting for from Mercedes?

“It went down very badly when they spoke about Russell leaving to make way for him; the two are enemies.

“So, what is he waiting for? To see what happens at Mercedes, right? With Russell himself, and with Antonelli, who is not delivering everything expected of him yet.

“But, there’s something else, a hunch, maybe he’s thinking too, that big dream of every driver, what’s going to happen to Hamilton?

“Will he find himself again, or if he doesn’t find himself, you see his current state of saying that he feels useless, he’s questioning himself.

“In Formula 1, this is normally the beginning of the end of a career.

“If in 2026, Hamilton says, that’s it, he’ll fulfil the contract until the end of 2026, with an option for 2026 which he controls, not Ferrari.

“If he continues in this mindset, I think he can perfectly well say, it’s over, I’m super successful, I want to get on with my life.

“Then Ferrari will definitely go after Verstappen as any team would.”

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Ralf Schumacher thinks Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari experience should be a warning to Max Verstappen

This season has shown just how difficult some drivers have found switching teams, with Hamilton being a prime example.

He’s 42 points worse off compared to new teammate Charles Leclerc, while George Russell is having the best season of his F1 career at Mercedes.

Carlos Sainz has also struggled at Williams, and both of those factors might be in the back of Verstappen’s head.

Ralf Schumacher has warned Verstappen about the dangers of changing teams, but if Red Bull are too far off the pace, he may have no choice.

The conundrum is if Ferrari are still competitive, Hamilton will trigger the extension in his contract, but if he decides to walk away, he’s likely leaving behind a car Verstappen won’t want to drive.