Verstappen and Mercedes: Things get serious after Miami
After Adrian Newey, Red Bull is also in danger of losing Max Verstappen. Negotiations with Mercedes are scheduled.
In the 14 days after the event in Florida and the European opener in Imola, there will be concrete negotiations between Mercedes and the Verstappen team - consisting of the driver himself, his father Jos and manager Raymond Vermeulen. As F1-Insider.com learned, Mercedes F1 team shareholders Toto Wolff, CEO Ola Källenius and Sir James Ratcliffe (Ineos) want to meet with the Verstappen clan.
The Dutchman will then decide whether he wants to move to Mercedes next year. This is made possible by an exit clause in his contract, which states: If his mentor and confidant Helmut Marko (Red Bull motorsport consultant) is no longer on board, the winning Dutchman can leave the Red Bull ship early. Marko, that's for sure, won't stand in Verstappen's way if necessary.
https://f1-insider.com/formel-1-verstap ... gen-63046/