Jos Verstappen “handshake agreement” tipped to solve Max’s 2026 drive

Max Verstappen’s future could lie at Mercedes and his father is at the centre of talks, according to German media.

Where Verstappen will drive in the coming years has been a subject of debate for months, since the internal crisis at Red Bull that involved Christian Horner, Helmut Marko and his dad, Jos Verstappen.

Worsening the F1 champion’s problems is the decline in competitiveness of his RB20.

His father plans to take him to Mercedes in 2026, F1-Insider claim.

They insist there is a “handshake agreement between Jos Verstappen and Toto Wolff”.

It would mean the Verstappen camp are betting on Mercedes’ ability to emerge in the new regulations era with the best engine.

Mercedes have named Kimi Antonelli as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement, alongside George Russell, for 2025.

Team boss Wolff has insisted that Russell and Antonelli are his No1 choice for the long-term.

However, whether an available Verstappen changes his mind remains to be seen.

Aston Martin option?

“Adrian Newey is vigorously courting Verstappen,” F1-Insider also reported.

Red Bull will lose their car design genius to Aston Martin in the early part of next year.

Newey will then have time to influence how Aston Martin’s 2026 car, the first of the new regulations, is created.

However, the report states Verstappen is not as convinced by the prospect of Aston Martin.

His “former dream marriage is in a deep crisis” with Red Bull, F1-Insider report.

“The downward trend at Red Bull is hard to overlook,” they say.

Verstappen is on a contract at Red Bull until 2028 but they will need a faster car to convince him to stay.

He enters this weekend’s F1 Singapore Grand Prix on a seven-race winless run, with Lando Norris seriously threatening his lead of the drivers’ championship.