Credits: IMAGO / HochZwei

It’s no secret that Toto Wolff has been chasing after Max Verstappen to get him to join Mercedes as the replacement for Lewis Hamilton. Up until now, it seemed highly unlikely that Verstappen would consider such a move considering the poor performance of the Silver Arrows. However, F1 pundit Marc Priestley believes that the Dutchman could now think about moving away from Red Bull, especially after Hamilton’s win at Silverstone.

Mercedes was unable to capitalize on the current ground-effect regulations since the start of 2022 and that led to the team struggling for a couple of seasons. However, the recent series of upgrades they introduced to the W15 since Monaco and Canada has changed the game completely.

The Brackley outfit are back at the front of the grid with two consecutive wins in the last two races. And that is the reason why Priestley believes Verstappen could think about a switch next season.

In his breakdown of the 2024 British Grand Prix, Priestley explained the internal turmoil at Red Bull around the allegations against Christian Horner has affected the Verstappen camp a lot. While the three-time champion is not showing it in public, his father Jos Verstappen has clearly been at loggerheads with Horner since the Bahrain GP.

Thus, Verstappen leaving Red Bull at his father’s behest for a better team environment at Mercedes was always possible, provided their performance improved.

Priestley further added, “But now, of course, we’ve got a Mercedes that’s joined the party at the front… There is no doubt that Mercedes now has a car capable of fighting at the front of most Grands Prix, that’s all that Max really wants here, isn’t it? He could potentially leave that team and move to Mercedes for next season”.

The Dutchman making this switch could be a seismic shock to the driver market and Red Bull would be in disarray. Verstappen is the one man carrying their 2024 campaign currently as the RB20 is facing a lot of competition from McLaren and now Mercedes. Thus, the vacuum that Verstappen leaves by jumping ship to Mercedes, could be too big to fill.

Verstappen to Mercedes could really help Carlos Sainz

Another driver who has yet to decide on his Formula 1 future is Carlos Sainz. There are a lot of teams that have been chasing the Spaniard, but he has chosen not to rush into a decision. Priestley thinks that it could work out very well for him if Verstappen chose to switch to Mercedes.

“If he [Max Verstappen] were to leave at the end of 2024, it of course makes a lot more sense as to why Carlos Sainz might have been delaying his own decision about where to drive next season too,” Priestley remarked.

The former McLaren man highlighted that Sainz has tested many prospective teams’ patience by not committing to them about his future and delaying his decision. But, he mentioned how the 29-year-old could inadvertently help himself by not rushing his decision and the Red Bull seat opens up again, courtesy of Verstappen’s possible shock move.

Priestley added, “There is no better driver to take that seat and for Carlos [Sainz], there’s no better car to be able to drive.”

Another major development about Red Bull is that Sergio Perez could get replaced mid-season by Liam Lawson who is scheduled to drive the RB20 on Thursday for a filming day.