Max Verstappen given Red Bull departure date by F1 boss

Max Verstappen has been handed a date for when he could potentially leave Red Bull and join Mercedes, by rival Formula 1 boss Zak Brown.

Brown is the CEO of McLaren Racing, and arguably has the most settled driver pairing on the grid, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri both tied down to long-term contracts and prepared to do battle for the 2025 drivers' championship.

Now, Brown has made an astonishing claim about Verstappen moving to Mercedes, and has given a date for when the move is likely to happen, in an interview that is sure to wind up Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.

Four-time world champion Verstappen has enjoyed plenty of success with Red Bull in the past four seasons, but was plagued by performance issues in the second half of 2024, problems that appear to have not gone away in 2025.

Is Verstappen move to Mercedes likely?

It means that for the first time in three seasons, Verstappen does not go into 2025 as the favourite for the title, with 2024 constructors' champions McLaren appearing to have given Norris and Piastri a car far superior to Red Bull's - at least for the start of the season.

Verstappen has already admitted that there's a lot of work to be done if he's to challenge for race victories in the early part of the year, and that has only exacerbated rumours of him potentially switching teams.

In the off-season, Aston Martin were understood to be the favourites to secure the services of the Dutchman, following the arrival of design genius Adrian Newey, but the team have denied any links to Verstappen for 2026 or beyond.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff also made Verstappen his 'number one' target in 2024 when Lewis Hamilton announced his departure, but in the end opted to sign youngster Kimi Antonelli.

Both Antonelli and George Russell's Mercedes contracts expire at the end of 2025, and Brown has suggested that Verstappen could move to Mercedes before the start of the 2026 season.

"Oh I think he’ll leave at the end of this year," Brown told The Telegraph. "Most likely to Mercedes.

"There’s been talk of Aston Martin, too, with Adrian Newey joining. But as great as Adrian is - and he’s the greatest ever - you need a whole team around you. You need the culture, that takes time.

"If I was betting, I’d bet on Merc. In the last 10 years, they’ve won the championship seven or eight times, last year they won five races. They have stability. We know Toto likes him, and I think we all feel HPP [Mercedes High Performance Powertrains] is best-equipped on the power unit side heading into the new engine regulations next year.

"Plus, George [Russell] is out of contract at the end of this season and Kimi will be on a series of one-years."

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