The rumors about a possible change from Max Verstappen to Mercedes have been busy for weeks. However, the former team leader and today’s RTL expert Günther Steiner does not believe that the world champion will sit in the silver arrow in 2026. And for good reason.
Does Max Verstappen drive from the 2026 Formula 1 season for Mercedes? The premier class has been working on this question for months. Rumors about changing the Dutch to the silver arrows are persistent and are also becoming more and more concrete. However, Günther Steiner says: The topic is cooked hotter than it is.
“I think he will stay where it is next year. There is a completely new engine and vehicle regulations. Nobody knows who is standing where. Change now and take a long-term contract is too much risk,” said Steiner in the exclusive interview with RTL/NTV and Sport.de.
Steiner: Verstappen will play for time
What will happen instead? “I think Max looks at how the next season starts, who has the best car. And logically you have a great chance of getting into the best car when you are the best driver. This is just the same in Formula 1.
In the eyes of the RTL expert, this path would also be the right one for “Super Max”. “To change now and sign for Mercedes in the long term, not knowing how competitive Mercedes is with the new regulations would be a risk,” he said.
Verstappen has to drive the Red Bull “always at the limit”
According to Steiner, it is already clear: The World Cup train this year has been left for the four-time champion. Verstappen can always intervene in the fight for a Grand Prix victory or a pole position. The biggest of all prices for the Red Bull driver is no longer available.
Video: Steiner sings Loblied on ex-protégé Hülkenberg
“He just has to risk too much by car that he has. And then he is always at the limit, always on the knife cutting,” the South Tyrolean sees the decisive Verstappen-Nasche in the material.
The Dutch often had to go beyond the borders “because his car does not have the speed of the McLarens,” said Steiner.