Mercedes accused of plotting secret plan to ‘lure’ Max Verstappen away from Red Bull after 2026

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Mercedes may be in the midst of a secret plan to ‘lure’ Max Verstappen away from Red Bull following the conclusion of the 2026 F1 season, as theorised by F1 pundit Tom Coronel.

The German constructor’s interest in the four-time world champion is no secret. Verstappen was heavily linked with a move to Mercedes during the summer, and the question over his future remains as the 2026 F1 regulations begin to inch closer to reality with every passing race weekend.

Red Bull’s contract with Verstappen should see him remain at the team until the conclusion of the 2028 season, but the poor performance of the RB21 during the first half of the season marked a turning point in the relationship between both parties.

Following weeks of speculation, Verstappen backed down from his desire to leave after coming to an agreement with the Milton Keynes-based constructor over the possibility of him exiting the team next season if their 2026 F1 car isn’t up to scratch.

One of the many factors that put Verstappen’s name alongside Mercedes’ is due to rumours emerging from the F1 paddock regarding the performance of their 2026 power unit, which is being developed in line with the new ruleset that will take effect from next year.

READ MORE: Helmut Marko has made a Max Verstappen promise at Red Bull that Mercedes could ‘never’ fulfil

Tom Coronel thinks Mercedes is behind the rumours surrounding their engine superiority in 2026

Verstappen is expecting Mercedes to be ‘up there’ once racing begins in Australia next March due to the whispers in the paddock, and F1 pundit Tom Coronel has explained why he thinks the grid’s premature verdict on their power unit is part of an elaborate plan to ‘lure’ the Dutchman towards them.

Speaking on the RacingNews365 NL podcast, Coronel said, “The Ford motor, the Red Bull powertrain. Everyone thinks that it would not be directly up to spec. But you must not underestimate them.

“In the paddock, all the rumours are that Mercedes’ engine is the best and that it comes out the best. The Ferrari engine is also good, and the Red Bull powertrain is 30 to 40 horsepower behind. Those are the rumours. But who says that that’s true?

“You don’t know. If Mercedes says their engine is better, they are, of course, secretly trying to lure Max a bit. If you can pull Max to you, then he’s at least not at the competition.

“So then it also becomes a bit easier, you win him on both sides.”

Verstappen has made it clear that he wants to retire at Red Bull when the time comes for him to call it quits on his F1 career, but he’s also made it clear that he wants to win as many titles as he possibly can before then.

The Austrian constructor will find it extremely difficult to keep the Dutchman donning Red Bull colours if the rumours regarding their first completely in-house-developed engine come to fruition.

READ MORE: Max Verstappen tells Mercedes how they could have made F1 ‘easier’ for Kimi Antonelli

Red Bull’s 2026 F1 engine isn’t expected to be competitive at the start of next season

A very reliable source of James Allen’s believes Red Bull’s 2026 engine will be a couple of tenths off the benchmark at the very least, which doesn’t bode well for the future of the 28-year-old at all.

Due to the new power units utilising more electrical energy than ever before, teams have been scrambling to try and tweak them in order to provide the highest amount of efficiency on long straights such as Baku and Monza.

Previously, it was reported that Red Bull were running out of energy in this area, and are relatively ‘far away’ from being able to produce a fix for it.

The frustrations of the issue would be compounded in race conditions, due to the fact that the Red Bull cars would be left like sitting ducks on the various straights of the F1 calendar if they were unable to use the full potential of their power units.

Ted Kravitz has tipped Red Bull to suffer as much as Cadillac during the American constructor’s maiden season in the sport. They will be utilising Ferrari power units, which are expected to be in more of a respectable position ahead of the enforcement.