Did McLaren try to poach Max Verstappen from Red Bull?

McLaren CEO Zak Brown responded to claims over having contacted Max Verstappen for a switch to the British team.

Did McLaren try to poach Max Verstappen from Red Bull?

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris (via RacingNews365)

Max Verstappen is undoubtedly one of the biggest names on the F1 grid. Despite having a contract with Red Bull Racing till at least the end of 2028, many teams have been interested in signing the Dutch driver. Now, reports have emerged that 2024 world champions McLaren might’ve tried to contact the 27-year-old.

Verstappen remains a big name in the F1 driver market, courtesy of an exit clause in his Red Bull deal. This could allow the four-time world champion to jump ship if he decides to leave Milton Keynes. Aston Martin was believed to be the frontrunner in this regard after allegedly offering him a historic $1.2 billion contract. Though, the team refuted these rumors.

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McLaren and Max Verstappen have a controversial history on-track. The Dutch driver managed to defeat McLaren’s star driver Lando Norris for the world title last season. Nevertheless, it seems that the Woking-based squad was interested in Verstappen.

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As per De Telegraaf, McLaren CEO Zak Brown contacted Max Verstappen’s management some time ago for a potential switch to the British team. Brown confirmed that he did in fact talk to Verstappen’s team, albeit it was only a single phone call. Moreover, the 53-year-old clarified that he was simply exploring the market. The Woking-based team recently announced it had resigned Oscar Piastri on another long-term deal.

Mercedes shut door on Max Verstappen for 2026

Mercedes was another team keenly interested in poaching Max Verstappen. The Silver Arrows had publicly expressed its desire to sign Verstappen, particularly after Lewis Hamilton announced his decision to move to Scuderia Ferrari. However, it seems that Toto Wolff’s squad is no longer targeting the four-time world champion.

Christian Horner and Toto Wolff (via Motorsport Week)
Christian Horner and Toto Wolff (via Motorsport Week)

Wolff reminded the media at the Australian GP that both Mercedes and Verstappen made it clear that they were not holding any discussions. Rather, the Silver Arrows were simply going to focus on its current driver lie-up of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.

I think we’ve said it pretty clearly last year, and (Verstappen) said the same, we need to concentrate on our driver line-up, we need to do (the best with) that we have.

Toto Wolff said, as quoted by Associated Press

Additionally, Toto Wolff asserted that he won’t be flirting with drivers like Verstappen when he was content with his current team. Thus, the Austrian billionaire made it clear that no driver was on his radar for 2026, including the Red Bull star. Wolff further mentioned that he will be working on securing Russell another deal in the coming weeks.

I don’t flirt outside if I’m in a good relationship, and that is true for this year, too. So, at the moment that is not on any, let’s say, radar and I don’t plan to shift my concentration away from these guys and make sure that George has a contract (extension) pretty soon and we agree on the final things.

Toto Wolff explained

Is Max Verstappen running out of options?

Last season, Max Verstappen was rumored to be on the radar on almost every single top team. However, things seemed to have changed dramatically in the past few months, particularly after McLaren and Mercedes have publicly refuted such a possibility at least for the foreseeable future.

Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)
Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)

This leaves Aston Martin as the remaining alternative for the Dutch driver if he decides to leave Red Bull Racing at the end of this year. The Silverstone-based squad can be a promising project for Verstappen after aero genius Adrian Newey‘s arrival. Moreover, the British team willl also have an exclusive power units deal with Honda from next season.

Yet, joining Aston Martin would still be a gamble compared to the safer bets at McLaren or Mercedes. Max Verstappen has consistently stated that he wants to have assurances over having a good car, something which Red Bull might be in a better place to give, compared to Silverstone. Moreover, Milton Keynes has become increasing dependent on Verstappen in recent years.

Certainly, it will be interesting to see how things unfold in this year’s driver market. Max Verstappen might be the only driver who is consistently named in the silly season despite having a contract. Nevertheless, fans would likely see the reigning world champion continue at the Austrian team at least for next season.