Max Verstappen will not like what Red Bull are now ‘targeting’ for 2026 after Toto Wolff’s Mercedes ‘priority’ claim

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Mercedes F1 CEO and team principal Toto Wolff might have just revealed his ‘priority’ for the 2026 Formula 1 season at the worst time for Red Bull driver Max Verstappen.

The Silver Arrows have been courting the 27-year-old for some time as Wolff weighs up who will lead Mercedes into the 2026 F1 regulations. Wolff is yet to decide his team’s line-up for next season, with George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli both free agents after this term.

Wolff has long planned to sign Verstappen to partner Antonelli, should the former be able to free himself from his Red Bull contract. Verstappen’s deal is not due to expire until 2028, but the Dutchman could leave if he drops outside the top three in the standings by this summer.

Russell is currently fourth in the F1 drivers’ standings and 19 points from Verstappen with 58 available across the Belgian Grand Prix, where there will also be an F1 Sprint, and Hungarian GP before the summer break. Yet Wolff no longer sees a move for Verstappen as his priority.

Red Bull are ‘targeting’ a similar learning curve to Honda’s with their 2026 F1 rules engine

Wolff claims Mercedes’ ‘priority’ is to agree to new contracts with Russell and Antonelli and he adds that while it was explored, a swoop to sign Verstappen is unlikely. Instead, the four-time reigning champion is projected to stay at Red Bull under his new boss, Laurent Mekies.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about F1’s 2026 engine and aerodynamics rules

Red Bull sacking Christian Horner will not influence Verstappen’s future, which his manager Raymond Vermeulen confirmed. The Dutchman only wants to consider the performance of the car he will have when making his decision on where to drive at the start of F1’s new era.

So, it will likely not come as good news for Verstappen that RACER reports that Red Bull are now ‘targeting’ starting the 2026 season simply aiming to improve like Honda did when the Japanese brand rejoined F1 in 2015. Red Bull do not expect to be at the front straight away.

Red Bull are designing their own power unit for the first time after Horner established their engine division on the back of Honda initially withdrawing from F1 in October 2020. Honda later pulled a U-turn and will remain in F1 due to the 2026 rules, but will join Aston Martin.

Building a Formula 1 power unit for the first time is a major challenge for Red Bull, for whom Horner also secured a technical partnership with Ford. The American giant will help Red Bull Powertrains with its expertise in battery technology, but the rest sits on Red Bull’s shoulders.

Honda took four years before its engine scored a podium after returning to F1 in 2015

McLaren only scored 27 points in their first season with Honda engines in 2015, a tally which left them ninth in the constructors’ standings above Marussia. The Woking natives were also sixth on 76 points in 2016 and ninth on 30 points in 2017 before ditching Honda for Renault.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links

It took Honda until 2019 before the brand saw one of its engines power a podium-finishing car after joining Red Bull, who finished the year third in the standings with 417 points. Now, Red Bull are simply targeting a similar learning curve to Honda’s with their 2026 power unit.

Red Bull’s new target for, at least, the start of the 2026 F1 season will likely not sit well with Verstappen as he weighs up his future. Verstappen already believed Mercedes will have the best 2026 F1 rules engine, but Wolff has seemingly taken his move to Brackley off the table.

Verstappen, then, might not get his wish to have a race-winning car if he stays at Red Bull in 2026. His fears would also not have been eased by Ford Performance global director Mark Rushbrook admitting this year that Red Bull’s 2026 F1 engine may have reliability issues, too.