Ralf Schumacher says ‘it’s no coincidence’ what Max Verstappen and Toto Wolff are now doing before the next F1 race

Follow us on Google Discover

Max Verstappen’s future at Red Bull is in doubt. The recent success of Red Bull is quickly fading away, and Mercedes looks to be the front-running team in the race for his signature.

This isn’t the first time Mercedes has tried to sign Verstappen, as Toto Wolff made a move for the Dutchman after the 2020 season when his “contract situation was causing concern” for Red Bull.

The four-time World Champion finds himself in a similar position during the 2025 season.

Christian Horner has been given the boot by Red Bull, marking another key member of personnel leaving the team following Adrian Newey‘s departure to Aston Martin and Jonathan Wheatley‘s exit to Sauber since the start of 2024.

F1 fans already think Verstappen to Mercedes is a sure thing, and they may be on to something. Ralf Schumacher took note of the similarities of how the Red Bull driver and Mercedes team boss are spending their three-week break before the Belgian Grand Prix.

‘It’s no coincidence’ that Max Verstappen and Toto Wolff are both in Sardinia

Speaking to Formel1.de, the former F1 driver is adamant that we will get a resolution to Verstappen’s saga within the next couple of months, stating, “We still have time until the summer break. He’ll announce his results or his decision during the summer break, I’m sure of that.”

“It’s no coincidence that there are two boats in Sardinia this week,” Schumacher went on to say. “One belongs to Toto Wolff and the other to Max Verstappen.

“So I can imagine that they’ll probably have a coffee together.”

Verstappen is currently contracted to Red Bull up until the end of 2028. However, he has a performance clause in the contract which gives him the option to leave the team if they aren’t within the top four of the standings at the time of the summer break.

Max Verstappen won’t ‘take this decision lightly’ if he opts to move from Red Bull

Verstappen has been a part of the Red Bull family for over a decade, with Helmut Marko signing the driver as a 16-year-old in 2014 when he was competing in the European Formula 3 championship.

The Dutchman has developed close ties with Marko throughout his career and feels like a large part of his success is down to their close relationship, which Schumacher touched upon.

“What characterises Max is that I think he doesn’t take this decision lightly,” he said. “He knows exactly who he owes his career to, apart from himself and his father. In the end, it was Red Bull that got him there.”

There had been another clause in Verstappen’s contract which allowed him to leave on the basis of Marko also departing the team. This was thrown out last year after senior figures within the team were reportedly ‘terrified’ of losing Verstappen through this mechanism.

If Schumacher is correct in his summer break prediction, we will hopefully get an answer as to where Verstappen will be racing next season during August.

A move to Mercedes would create a domino effect for the rest of the grid, freeing up the talents of one of the current Silver Arrow drivers, who would be an attractive choice for a lot of teams on the grid.