The champion’s unusual behaviour raised eyebrows

MAX VERSTAPPEN’s surprising reaction to his crash with Kimi Antonelli in Austria could be because they are ‘already team-mates’, an F1 icon reckons.

Antonelli’s Mercedes locked up and collided with the Red Bull of Verstappen during the first lap of Sunday’s F1 Austrian Grand Prix.

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The crash took both drivers out of the race at the Red Bull RingCredit: AFP
The notoriously edgy Dutchman was surprisingly relaxed in the wake of having his race ended by his young rival, being seen chatting calmly with the teenager after exiting their cars.

Verstappen’s friendly manner has added fuel to the fire of speculation that the defending champion could be joining Antonelli at Mercedes next season.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff is a known admirer of Verstappen, and could look to further shake up his team after legend Lewis Hamilton made the switch to Ferrari this season.

Ex-Williams and McLaren cult hero Juan Pablo Montoya weighed in on the incident in conversation with BettingLounge.co.uk.

He said: “If you wanted to read into things, why was Max so nice to Kimi after their collision? Are they already teammates?”

Montoya also suggested that the Red Bull driver might have seen something of himself in Antonelli, who was late on the brakes into turn three and ploughed into the pack, clipping Verstappen’s Red Bull.

Montoya said: “I think when that happened, in the way it did, he goes – ‘I probably would have done the same thing.’

“Inside he would be laughing about it.”

Verstappen was quick to wave the incident away after the race, saying: “Every driver has made a mistake like that.

“No one does that on purpose, so for me, that is not a big deal.”

Despite extensive whispers of a team change, Verstappen is still contracted to Red Bull until 2028, as team principal Christian Horner has been keen to remind speculators.

However, Antonelli’s current Mercedes partner George Russell remains in contract limbo, as the team consider their options ahead of the 2026 season.