Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has put any proposal to move to Mercedes on hold in the near future after having a bitter taste in his mouth after the British Grand Prix weekend.
The fire is still smoldering after the collision between Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen, which disheveled more than a few feathers in the paddock, with both sides locked in a verbal argument after the weekend.
The pair collided on the first lap of the race at Silverstone and speared the Red Bull driver into the tire barriers in a 180 km / h corner, with the Dutchman visibly breathless as he climbed out of the cockpit.
But the accident was just the beginning: Red Bull bosses angrily went back to Hamilton and team boss Christian Horner passionately supported his driver in the incident.
Hamilton was given a 10-second time penalty for a collision. However, some people in the Red Bull camp felt it should have been a tougher penalty, with Helmut Marko suggesting that the Briton should have been banned from a race.
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Verstappen, meanwhile, had no points on the board and watched Hamilton recover to drive to victory in front of his home fans.
“I was very disappointed with what happened at Silverstone,” Verstappen admitted in an interview with Scott Mitchell at The Race.
“But what happened after that really shows that we’re just one big family, with the support I’ve had from everyone at Red Bull.
There has been some speculation that if Red Bull couldn’t give him a championship car, Verstappen would switch teams.
McLaren Formula 1 CEO Zak Brown predicted that Max Verstappen and George Russell would form an entirely new line-up at Mercedes in 2022, replacing Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.
“It seems to me that that would be the logical choice for Mercedes,” said Brown.
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“Given George’s relationship with Mercedes and his year-end retirement, I have Lewis on a one-year contract and Max who I believe will be a free agent by the end of the year.
“Whether this is actually happening or not, and I’m not trying to move it, it looks like it’s going to happen to me.
“I think that would be a sensible move by Toto, but I have no idea if that will be the case.”
Hamilton was the first to put that rumor aside, signing a two-year deal with the seven-time world champion through 2024, with the second seat still up for grabs as Bottas’ contract needs to be renewed at the end of the season.
But Verstappen, who is under contract with Red Bull until the end of 2023, will apparently not occupy that spot in the next season or in the near future as the 23-year-old is confident in his decisions.
“Sometimes you forget things like that, but it really shows how much we all care about each other.
“For me it was a confirmation that I am in the right place.”
Verstappen is eight points behind Hamilton during the Formula 1 break until the end of August.
The race will continue on August 29th when the paddock comes back together for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.
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