Is Max Verstappen Going to Mercedes?

That does not mean he will spend his whole career there, but as things stand, he is not joining Mercedes for 2026.

Current Situation: Signed and Staying with Red Bull

Verstappen’s contract with Red Bull already runs through to the end of 2028, and over the summer of 2025 there was a lot of talk about special clauses that might have let him leave early if Red Bull’s performance collapsed.

Ahead of the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix he finally addressed the rumours and said it was time to “stop all the rumours” and confirmed that he will drive for Red Bull in 2026.

Official 2026 entry lists and reports also show Max Verstappen listed with Oracle Red Bull Racing, while Mercedes is set to run George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

Why the Mercedes Rumours Started

The rumours didn’t come from nowhere. Through early and mid-2025 a few things stirred the pot:

• Toto Wolff (Mercedes boss) openly said he was interested in Verstappen for the new 2026 rules and admitted they had conversations.
• Red Bull went through a rough period with performance dips and big internal changes, including the departure of long-time team boss Christian Horner, which naturally raised questions about Verstappen’s long-term future.
• Reports surfaced that Verstappen’s contract contained a performance-related exit clause, possibly allowing him to leave if he was outside the top three in the standings by the summer break.

All of that was enough to make “Max to Mercedes” a hot story for months, especially with new engine rules coming in 2026.

What Verstappen and Mercedes Have Said Since

Verstappen’s Side

After weeks of speculation, Verstappen made it clear that:

• He will race for Red Bull in 2026.
• He wants to focus on winning more titles with them, especially with the new Red Bull–Ford power unit coming.
• The whole situation around his contract clause was made more dramatic in public than it actually was from his point of view.

In short: he knows everyone is talking, but he has said he is not switching teams for 2026.

Mercedes’ Side

On the Mercedes side, Toto Wolff has:

• Confirmed that Mercedes did have talks and was interested in Verstappen for 2026.
• Also said that, realistically, they are planning to stick with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli for 2026, focusing on stability with their current lineup.
• More recently talked about there being maybe a “50% chance” of signing Verstappen at some point in the future, but clearly not for 2026.

So even Mercedes is now talking more about “maybe someday” rather than an immediate move.

Could Verstappen Go to Mercedes Later?

Long term, it’s impossible to say with certainty. A few points to keep in mind:

• His current contract runs to 2028 with Red Bull, but F1 contracts sometimes change if all sides agree.
• He has said he wants to keep winning, so his future past 2026 will likely depend on which team builds the quickest car under the new rules.
• Mercedes has left the door open in a very general way for “the future,” but is not building the 2026 plan around him.

So yes, sometime after 2026 you could see the topic come back again if circumstances change, but that is speculation about the future, not a confirmed move.

Simple Takeaway

If your question is:

“Is Max Verstappen going to Mercedes for 2026?”

The answer is: No, he has confirmed he’s staying with Red Bull, and Mercedes is planning on Russell and Antonelli.

“Could he ever race for Mercedes one day?”

That’s not impossible, but it’s just a maybe for the longer term, not something that’s happening now.