Max Verstappen drops huge hint about his F1 future and has ‘burned no Mercedes bridges’

Max Verstappen’s future is under question at the moment amid Red Bull’s civil war, with the Dutchman loyal to Helmut Marko who has been working to get Christian Horner removed

Max Verstappen says he is “happy” and “pretty fixed” with Red Bull despite suggestions he could quit over the team’s internal power struggle.

Verstappen remains loyal to the team’s long-time advisor Helmut Marko, who has had a bitter falling out with team principal Christian Horner. And the Dutchman’s father, Jos, has also made it clear that he wants the Englishman to replace him. The three-time world champion has publicly shown his loyalty to Marko and his father, but refrains from criticizing Horner himself. Amid intense speculation that he could move to Mercedes, Verstappen has spoken out about his future, allaying fears that he might do so. Speaking in Melbourne, he said: The car drives very well. We have a lot of great people on our team who are always striving for better results.

“That’s what I’m focused on. I concentrate on my performance, I’m happy, and when I get home I don’t think about anything else because my place is completely determined. And I want to be there too. ”

Mirror Sport understands that Red Bull would be prepared to part ways with their star driver if either Verstappen or Horner were to stay. However, such a scenario has not yet materialized, and there currently appears to be an uneasy ceasefire between the parties to the conflict.

If Verstappen decides to leave, the obvious destination would be Mercedes, as Lewis Hamilton leaves at the end of the year. Although the two teams are mortal enemies, the personal rivalry between the two drivers sometimes takes on other forms, but former Silver Arrows driver Valtteri Bottas believes it was the Dutch driver’s decision to join the team. I don’t think this will prevent participation.

“I don’t think [this will prevent Verstappen from joining Mercedes], because at the end of the day it’s a tough competition,” the Finn said. It’s F1, that’s normal. There’s still a rivalry, but I don’t think he’s built bridges anywhere and any team would love him.

So far, the conflict has not affected the results obtained. Verstappen started the new season with back-to-back wins in Bahrain and Jeddah, with teammate Sergio Perez also supporting Verstappen with two second places, giving the team a 38-point lead over nearest rivals Ferrari. I added.

Verstappen is keen to continue his good form in Australia, saying: “For me personally this is definitely the best start of the year.” The car has just the right balance. However, as a team, I think we played very well without making too many mistakes. So of course I’m very happy. I hope I can continue like this. We tried to keep learning what we could do and it was very positive.