Zak Brown: Verstappen at Mercedes, a Threat to McLaren
McLaren CEO Zak Brown has called the possibility of Max Verstappen joining Mercedes “scary”, amid growing rumors of a possible team change for the four-time world champion as early as next year.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff expressed his interest in signing Verstappen during last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, although he downplayed suggestions that negotiations were already at an advanced stage.
Verstappen has a contract with Red Bull until the end of 2028, but performance-related release clauses could allow him to leave earlier if he is not among the top three positions in the championship by the summer break.
Mercedes is seen as the most likely destination outside of Red Bull for the 25-year-old driver, as it seems to be well-positioned to get off to a good start under the new Formula 1 regulations in 2026.
Brown, whose McLaren team has emerged as the class of the field under the current set of rules, admits that the prospect of facing a Mercedes team with Verstappen would be a great challenge.
“That’s a bit scary,” Brown said.
“I think Mercedes is clearly on an upward trajectory, Red Bull clearly isn’t at the moment, and Max is an incredible talent. So Max in a Mercedes, that’s some serious competition,” he added.McLaren has its current drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, signed with long-term contracts, and Brown confirmed that he is not interested in pursuing Verstappen, even if he were available.
“No, I couldn’t be happier with our driver lineup,” Brown added. “I’ve said it from day one, I think we have the best driver lineup in Formula 1. I think, right now, it would be difficult to argue that that’s statistically true. And because of the characters they are, the talent they have on and off the track, I wouldn’t trade our two drivers for any other driver on the grid.”
McLaren’s drivers are currently divided by 15 points in this year’s drivers’ standings, with Verstappen 61 points away after retiring from last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix on the first lap.
No driver in F1 history has recovered from such a large points deficit to win the title, but with 13 races remaining, Brown does not rule out Verstappen or George Russell, who is nine points behind.
«No, it’s too early», he added. «It’s an incredible talent, of course, and I don’t think George Russell is out of the fight. We’re not even halfway through the season. We see how quickly our season changed last year. There’s absolutely no reason why that can’t happen with Max or with Mercedes specifically.
George, where he is in the points, and even Ferrari, so I think we have to keep doing what we are doing. It’s great that we have a good lead. It’s great that we extended it this past weekend, but we have a long race ahead of us, so I still think you have four drivers really in the fight for the drivers’ championship.
