Zak Brown an “interested spectator” of Max Verstappen Mercedes links

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has addressed the rumours linking Max Verstappen to a move to Mercedes. Brown counted himself out of the conversations with the four-time champion, confirming he “couldn’t be happier” with the Woking outfit’s current drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff confirmed that he was in talks with Verstappen, which has cast uncertainty on the future of the current drivers George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, both of whom have contracts that expire at the end of the year.

While Wolff confirmed that the probability of Verstappen signing with the Brackley outfit for 2026 was low, he could not rule it out for the future. 

“I think when you look at the situation we have with Kimi and George, we have a perfect line-up that we very much enjoy and that we believe is the future,” Wolff explained to Sky Sports F1 in June.

“But, at the same time, there is a four-time world champion that needs to decide what he is going to do in the future, and that is just, as a team principal, you need to see where that is going. But I think I give it a very little probability that it’s going to happen.”

He clarified: “You don’t know what’s going to be in three or five years, that’s why you need to look at what is it that should be considered on the long term.”

Brown was quizzed on the rumours and whether he was interested in holding talks of his own with the Dutchman.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: James Sutton / Motorsport Images

“I couldn’t be happier with Oscar and Lando,” the American explained to TSN. “So, short of being an interested spectator, I’m very happy with my driver line-up. I don’t really spend any time on it other than what pops up on my phone.”

Verstappen is under contract with Red Bull through to the end of 2028. But after a string of performance struggles, his future with the Milton Keynes outfit has come into question.

In addition, Red Bull announced on 9 July 2025 that Christian Horner was replaced in his role of Red Bull Racing CEO and team principal with immediate effect by Laurent Mekies. It is unclear at this stage if this will have an influence on the Dutchman’s decision about his long-term plans with Red Bull.