Red Bull F1 advisor Helmut Marko has given the go-ahead for Max Verstappen to meet with Mercedes regarding his future in the sport.
The F1 team’s star driver has claimed four championships in as many years, but in his hunt for a record-equalling fifth, Red Bull have failed to provide him with competitive machinery.
F1’s rumour mill kicked off once again following the British Grand Prix when both Verstappen and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff were believed to be in Sardinia, with fans even tracking their private vessels to the same harbour.
Ex-F1 star Ralf Schumacher then fuelled those rumours, teasing a meeting between the Dutchman and the Mercedes F1 boss, but others at Red Bull insisted the timing was pure coincidence.
In conversation with Austrian publication Oe24, Marko was asked if there was any truth to the Sardinia rumours, to which the 81-year-old simply responded: “Max can meet with whoever he wants.”
Could Max Verstappen be about to wave goodbye to Red Bull?
Has Marko given up on Verstappen contract talks?
Verstappen currently sits third in the drivers’ standings as the 2025 campaign has reached its halfway mark.
With just 12 races to go, the reigning champion has his work cut out if he hopes to overtake both McLaren drivers in order to reclaim his title.
The 27-year-old has maintained that in an ideal world, he would stay at Red Bull for the entirety of his F1 career, but with the RB21 proving increasingly tricky for even the dominant driver to pilot, his mind could be swayed.
Mercedes boss Wolff already confirmed he has looked into the prospect of signing Verstappen, and if the second half of the season sees the Red Bull star endure as many setbacks as he has experienced so far this year, there may be nothing left that Marko can do to convince his star driver to stay.
