Max Verstappen to Mercedes 'not dead in the water' after behind-the-scenes conversation

Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft believes that Mercedes’ chances of bringing Max Verstappen to the team in 2025 are ‘not dead in the water yet’. The Silver Arrows have been chasing the three-time world champion’s signature all year after Lewis Hamilton dropped the bombshell that he would be joining Ferrari at the end of the season.

While Toto Wolff’s commitment to bringing the 26-year-old on board has been unwavering, Mercedes’ struggles in terms of performance have been a major limiting factor in convincing Verstappen to swap Milton Keynes for Brackley. However, his team’s recent difficulties may have changed the thought process of the reigning champion.

Explaining his knowledge of the situation on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Croft said: “Let’s go back to Monaco where the Verstappen to Mercedes rumours started being talked about again.

“Now, I am not sure what’s changed since the opening race of the season and Monaco so that it all went a bit quiet in between and then someone might have come to the race in Monaco that we hadn’t seen at the track for a while that might be quite close to Max Verstappen. Mentioning no names on that one but the rumours started again on that one.

“You get the impression, and I had a couple of wonderful text messages over the Monaco weekend from people who’d heard Jos talking and saying ‘Max going to Mercedes, you know, that’s not dead in the water yet.’

“It’s quite clear that there’s still a bit of a ground that needs to be resolved in that particular conversation. Logically, Max stays exactly where he is. But when has logic ever formed part of a discussion on this one? Especially in F1.”

While Verstappen’s future looks more uncertain than ever, his team-mate heads into the Canadian Grand Prix with plenty to shout about. Despite failing to score a podium in each of the last three races, Sergio Perez put pen to paper on a two-year contract extension with Red Bull earlier this week, keeping him with the team until the end of 2026.

The Mexican fended off interest from Carlos Sainz, Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda to secure another two years alongside Verstappen at Red Bull, and ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, suggested that he wants to end his career with his current employers.