Max Verstappen Between Red Bull and Mercedes: The Photos That Are Causing a Stir
Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Mercedes headed into the Formula 1 summer break on a high note, ending the season with an unchallenged lead in both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships. Max Verstappen is significantly further behind, and rumors of a future move to the Silver Arrows team have never completely died down. And the fact that the Dutch champion, less than a week after the Hungarian Grand Prix, treated himself to an early vacation in the company of, among others, Toto Wolff himself.
The images, which began circulating rapidly online on Wednesday afternoon, show Verstappen and Wolff together in the waters off Sardinia (where the four-time world champion has moored his yacht “Unleash the Lion”) accompanied by their respective partners: Kelly Piquet and Susie Stoddart, who, among other things, is a former Williams test driver. In the images, the four can be seen enjoying a swim while the Mercedes team principal sits on a jet ski. This isn’t even the first time, however: as ‘Autosprint’ notes, the group also got together during the week of Ferragosto 2025, again in Sardinia (at Cala Volpe), but this time it was the Austrian manager who hosted the Red Bull driver on his personal yacht, the Mangusta.
It’s well known that relations between the two parties are cordial, but one aspect is hard to ignore: Verstappen could be released from his contract with Red Bull—which runs through 2028—if he finishes the current season outside the top two spots in the final standings. And the possibility of him moving to Mercedes—which has never been entirely ruled out—could come back into play, thanks in part to this new opportunity to relax together with Toto Wolff. It’s also worth noting the notoriously excellent relationship between the Dutch driver and Antonelli. In this scenario, George Russell would be the one to make way; he has been struggling greatly in recent months, and even a year ago, his contract renewal was made official rather late. And the concerns from that time could soon turn into genuine fear as 2026 progresses.
What makes this prospect even more likely is the standings at the halfway point of the championship: Antonelli leads with 219 points, while Verstappen is far behind with just 109—well below the threshold that would allow him to trigger his buyout clause. Red Bull has slipped to fourth place among the constructors for the time being, and the Dutchman’s dissatisfaction with the Austrian team is now common knowledge in the paddock. Not surprisingly, as early as June, former driver Ralf Schumacher had revealed to ‘Sky’ that Mercedes would have made a confidential offer to Verstappen—an offer he described, however, as “so financially disadvantageous as to not even be an option.” According to the Kaiser’s brother, this was an intentional move by Wolff, who was reluctant to challenge the dominance of his young star from Bologna by pairing him with such a high-profile and expensive champion.
As for Russell, the numbers speak for themselves and leave no room for charitable interpretations. The British driver finishes the first half of the season third in the standings with 160 points and just two wins, but the gap to Antonelli—59 points—speaks to a season spent in his teammate’s shadow. In Hungary, the final race before the break, Russell suffered a problem at the start and had to fight his way back from last place, finishing only sixth. After the race, his words sounded like a wake-up call: “I’ve never had a season like this in my career. Problems happen to me, but the whole team is experiencing them. I don’t usually feel the need for a break, but this year I definitely feel the need for one.”
Further complicating Russell’s situation was the authoritative voice of Riccardo Patrese, who, with six career victories, shares second place with Antonelli in the all-time rankings of the most successful Italian drivers. The former Williams driver from Veneto didn’t mince words, comparing the Briton’s struggles to those of Charles Leclerc: “Sometimes drivers are just like that. If things aren’t going their way, they think the whole world is out to get them. But that leads them to do silly things. It’s curious that Russell is complaining in much the same way Leclerc did a few races ago. Sometimes it’s better to keep quiet rather than make excuses.” Words that, in the context of the rumors surrounding Verstappen, risk weighing heavily on the future of the King’s Lynn driver at Mercedes.
