Max Verstappen ‘wowed’ by Mercedes ‘gold nugget’ in fresh Red Bull exit claim

Max Verstappen will be left “wowed” by the “little gold nugget” of having the car to beat at Mercedes in the F1 2026 season.

That is the claim of Johnny Herbert, who believes Mercedes’ plans for F1’s new regulations will convince Verstappen to leave Red Bull.

Max Verstappen to swap Red Bull for Mercedes for F1 2026 season?

Reports over recent weeks have claimed that Verstappen is closing in on a switch to Mercedes for next season, with the deal rumoured to have been approved by Mercedes chief executive Ola Kallenius.

Despite being officially under contract with Red Bull until the end of the 2028 season, Verstappen’s deal is understood to contain a performance-related clause that could see him leave at the end of 2025.

It is believed that Verstappen will be free to trigger an exit clause if he is lower than fourth in the Drivers’ standings after the Hungarian Grand Prix, the final race before F1’s summer break, early next month.

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Verstappen currently holds third in the championship with an 18-point advantage over George Russell, the driver he would most likely replace at Mercedes and whose contract is due to expire at the end of 2025.

Mercedes’ preparations for the new F1 2026 rules – which will see the sport embrace 50 per cent electrification, fully sustainable fuels and active aerodynamics – are widely believed to be well advanced, with a report in April indicating that its rivals are all struggling with the development of their new engines to varying degrees.

Mercedes previously emerged as F1’s dominant force following the last major engine rule changes in 2014, winning a record eight consecutive Constructors’ titles and seven Drivers’ crowns split between Lewis Hamilton (2014-15 and 2017-2020) and Nico Rosberg (2016).

Next season will see Red Bull produce its own engines for the first time via its newly established Powertrains division, in collaboration with US marque Ford, as current supplier Honda enters a technical partnership with Aston Martin.

Herbert, the former Sky F1 pundit who left his role as an FIA steward earlier this year, believes the question marks over the RBPT-Ford power unit, combined with the promise of Mercedes’ new engine, will convince Verstappen to make the switch.

He told a gambling platform: “Max will be very aware of what’s going on within Red Bull’s development programme for next year with the new engine, the new power unit they’re making themselves, and all the different elements to that, and then obviously to the car at the same time.

“Rumours are that it’s not been going very well. But the rumours have been that Mercedes are going very well.

“Max would want to put himself in a position where he has the best chance he can to [win].

“He’s frustrated where he is because they’re not able to give him what he wants.

“There have been a lot of people who have left. There are still things going on behind the scenes.”

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After storming to four consecutive World Championships with Red Bull, Verstappen’s hopes of securing a fifth this year have diminished considerably over recent weeks.

The 27-year-old, who has been restricted to just two victories across the first 12 races, currently trails McLaren’s championship leader Oscar Piastri by a massive 69 points ahead of next weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa.

Herbert has likened the situation facing Verstappen to that of Hamilton, who left his boyhood team McLaren to join Mercedes at the end of 2012.

Hamilton joined Mercedes for 2013 based on the promise that the team would ace the 2014 rule changes, with the alliance proving to be the most successful team/driver partnership in F1 history.

Herbert said: “The discussions I would have thought that Toto [Wolff, Mercedes boss] and Max have had are probably very, very similar to what Niki Lauda had with Lewis when he got taken out of McLaren and brought over to Mercedes.

“Because I think Mercedes would have shown Max what they’ve got, what they believe they’re going to have for next year, which will probably be the car to beat.

“Now that would be, for me, the little gold nugget that you would dangle in front of Max – and he would be wowed by what he’s being told.

“Toto says it’s all unlikely, but that is classic Toto. There is more to it, for sure.

“Max is thinking: ‘I’ve got to get out of here.’

“It’s little ingredients and that just keeps creeping into his season so far.

“And the more that it happens, the more he must be thinking: ‘I’ve got to move on. I’ve to find a place that would give me what I need.’

“The thing is with Red Bull, with the engine program that they’ve got, it’s going to take time.

“And time is not always what an F1 driver has on his side.”

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Herbert’s comments come after Christian Horner, the now-former Red Bull team principal, admitted that the RBPT-Ford engine is highly unlikely to be a match for Mercedes in F1 2026.

Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com at the recent British Grand Prix, just days before his departure was announced, Horner conceded that it would be “embarrassing” for Mercedes if Red Bull were to produce a more powerful engine at the first attempt.

He said: “Things go in cycles and sport goes in cycles.

“We’ve had two incredibly successful cycles in Formula 1 and what we want to do is build towards the next cycle.

“Now, of course, we want that to be with Max, but we understand the pressure that there is next year with us coming in as a new power unit manufacturer.

“The challenge of that is enormous. But we’ve got a hugely capable group of people. We’ve invested significantly. We’ve got a great culture within the team.

“Who knows? To expect us to be ahead of Mercedes next year is [unrealistic].

“It would be embarrassing for Mercedes if we were, or for any manufacturer.”