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Max to Mercedes or Horner Out?

A Verstappen move away from RedBull is something nobody predicted for the 2024 Formula 1 season. But unexpectedly, that’s what we’re left speculating.

Following Jos Verstappen’s postulations against the recent Christian Horner scandal and very shady investigation and resultant acquittal, the RedBull paddock is alight with gossip about a possible move from Max Verstappen.

While the second seat at RedBull is up for grabs in the 2025 season, as Checo’s contract hasn’t been renewed yet, Max Verstappen and RedBull Racing have become synonymous as the car keeps performing consistently and the driver cruises through victory after victory since the 2023 season.

After his landslide win in 2023, the 2024 season has also begun in similar tunes where even the drivers on the grid are aiming for P2 and Max Verstappen is consistently keeping a race lead of 5+ seconds from the rest of the pack. Verstappen moving to any other team on the grid would make Formula One interesting again but it will be lucrative for neither the driver nor the team.

In a recent interview, Max had claimed that he has no plans to move as long as he is winning. But Jos Verstappen’s vehement criticism of Horner has not laid this matter to rest. F1 commentators have claimed that if Max moves, it’ll be to Mercedes and that is again fuelled by an impromptu meeting of Jos and Toto on the race venue of Bahrain following the first race.

If Max moves to Mercedes, it’ll be just as iconic a move as Hamilton to Ferrari next year. And just as the case was there, nobody would really see this coming even as the F1 world is abuzz with the same speculation and Verstappen agrees. His responses aim to soothe the rumors and bring the focus back onto racing.

While it is the more sensible response to this whole drama, the news of Helmut Marko moving from the team has seen strong and opposite reactions from Verstappen as he says he will leave RedBull if Marko does.

As Verstappen takes his 100th podium this weekend at the second race and second win of the season at the Jeddah GP, the RedBull team has got its hands full with team management trouble. Fred, Toto and now, Jos' fiery comments on the team situation are definitely not boosting morale in the paddock.

While Hamilton points out that Jos is not even part of the team and as a father, his comments are his opinion and do not reflect anything about the team, a possible Max move to Mercedes would indeed make the situation more complicated for Hamilton who is currently struggling in mid-field race after race. 

Nevertheless, this possibility has fans excited as it has the potential to even out the playing field of the grid and make the race to the championship more exciting.

Amidst the controversies, picking sides and threats all across, the haziness over the investigation conducted over the Horner scandal has cast the team as a whole in a different light. As the team went on the suspend the female employee who brought allegations against Horner, this situation has become dire from all aspects.

The team is struggling to maintain good faith within the team with the accused at the top. Fan sentiment is also not aligning with the executive decisions on this matter. With everything held in the balance, the executives have to take a call on value of the players on the field and if Horner is worth all the trouble he has caused.

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