Beyond the Flag
Fansided

Formula 1: Max Verstappen won’t rule out Mercedes switch for 2021

By Asher Fair

AUSTIN, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 03: 2019 Formula One World Drivers Champion Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP is congratulated by third placed Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of USA at Circuit of The Americas on November 03, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Charles Coates/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 03: 2019 Formula One World Drivers Champion Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP is congratulated by third placed Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of USA at Circuit of The Americas on November 03, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Charles Coates/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Set to enter a contract year, Max Verstappen refused to rule out a switch from Red Bull Racing to Mercedes for the 2021 Formula 1 season.

Max Verstappen has driven for Red Bull Racing ever since he was promoted from sister team Toro Rosso ahead of the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, a race he went on to win to become the youngest race winner in Formula 1 history at the age of 18.

The Dutchman signed a three-year contract extension late in what was his first full season driving for the Milton Keynes-based team in 2017, keeping him with the organization through the 2020 season.

As a result, the 22-year-old, like the majority of the 20 drivers who have been confirmed as competitors in the 2020 driver lineup, is set to enter a contract year.

More from Formula One

Verstappen is seen as arguably the hottest pending free agent in a stacked free agent class that includes Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel among several others.

There have already all kinds of rumors about what the 2021 grid may look like, and those rumors have only been magnified by the fact that the 2021 season is set to be the first season in which new cars and Liberty Media’s new rules and regulations, including a budget cap, are set to be in place.

Adding further fuel to the fire is the fact that driver salaries are not a part of this budget cap, which could result in huge paydays for the sport’s top drivers.

Verstappen has already been linked to a seat at Mercedes should Red Bull Racing not take that next step to become title contenders in their second season with Honda as their engine manufacturer.

In fact, there were rumors that Verstappen could end up at Mercedes in 2020 as Bottas’s replacement by triggering a performance clause in his contract with Red Bull Racing to leave the team a year early, but that ultimately did not happen, as both Verstappen and Bottas stayed put.

Verstappen recently ruled out a switch to Ferrari, but he won’t rule out a switch to Mercedes. To be more specific, he stated that he won’t rule out becoming a teammate to Hamilton.

With that being said, if Hamilton ends up at Ferrari, which is the biggest rumor in Formula 1 right now, it would have to be as Charles Leclerc’s teammate, as Leclerc is under contract with the team through the 2022 season.

So a Verstappen-Hamilton pairing would almost have to be at the Brackley-based team. Could Verstappen join the Silver Arrows?

Here is what Verstappen had to say about the possibility of joining Hamilton in 2021, according to Express.

"“Well, who knows? At the moment I don’t think about this too much. In the end it’s always about what the team thinks. I can have an opinion about it, he [Hamilton] can have an opinion about it. But in the end they decide what happens. So we’ll see.”"

Next. Top 10 Formula 1 drivers of all-time. dark

Will Max Verstappen stick around for another year with Red Bull Racing in the 2021 Formula 1 season, or will he leave the team to drive for Mercedes?

Home/Formula One