Red Ball team manager Christian Horner Open Max VersabenThe potential transition to Mercedes in 2026, which reveals the reason for the lack of a good idea given the great re -appointment in the regulations next year.
VerstapPen pledged his loyalty to Red Bull, and excluded a way out next year. Despite the end of his contract at the end of 2028, rumors do tours about the uncertainty that are still prevalent, given the concerns related to the performance surrounding the RB21 F1 from Red Bull.
The world champion is four times third in the championship ranking under the McLaren Oscar PiaSSTRI and Lando Norris, the first in the past two years. What adds to speculation is the claim made by the director of the Mercedes Toto Wolf team. Although he made it clear that George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonei would form the driver’s squad next year, he made it clear that Versaben was on his radar in the long run.
F1 will enter a new era of regulations in 2026, when new cars will go to the track, to replace ERA cars current land. Aside from being smaller and lighter, it will be operated by an equal rate of internal combustion and electric energy.
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Power units are completely new, and for the first time, Red Bull will produce engines for a 2026 car in cooperation with Ford Under the Red Bull PowerTrains brand. Horner acknowledged that the development of new engines will be first for all teams, making it difficult to predict the arrangement of the attackers.
As a result, the potential Verstapen step to Mercedes in 2026 can be a large gamble if Mercedes engines turned slower than others. When asked if the Verstapen switch with Russell was on the cards, he told Horner Medium During the British Grand Prix in Silverston:
“It is striking that George is still on the market. We have not participated in any discussion with George.
“It is clear that he is fully confident that he will keep his place, but we have an in -depth strength within our team.
“You can see bullfighters, you can see [Arvid] Lindblad that we are running in [FP1] And 2026 will be a transformative year. “
He talks about the year 2026, continued:
“It is the biggest change in the base in Formula 1, perhaps in the past fifty years, where both the structure and electrical unit are presented at the same time.
“No one, in the hands of the heart, can know what the attackers will be arranged. It can be so [McLaren or Aston Martin]Or it can be a Ferrari. It can be Mercedes. It can be anyone.
“There are a lot of horrific topics until 2026, and it will only be at this time in the next year that you will have a clear indication of what the attackers are arranged.
“Therefore, there are no guarantees that jumping to a Mercedes will be a better suggestion.”
