Verstappen-Aston Martin link explained as Mercedes fit questioned: "Everybody's talking about it in the paddock"

Sky Sports F1 commentator Ted Kravitz has given his assessment of Max Verstappen's future as Red Bull continues to struggle with its performance this 2025 Formula 1 season. Talking on the Sky Sports F1 Show, the pundit suggests that Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff wouldn't hesitate to replace George Russell with the reigning champion, but it may not be the best fit for Verstappen due to his historic rivalry with the team.

Speaking on the latest episode, embedded below, Kravitz commented on the ongoing speculation surrounding the driver's future. With reported links to Mercedes and a contract for Russell still not confirmed despite his strong performance so far this season, the presenter of Ted's Notebook admits that there could still be a shuffle between the outfits.

"I think George [Russell] is doing what [Toto Wolff] wants. Will that have an effect on whether they keep with him, Mercedes, or have a question about whether they accept Max Verstappen into their team? I'm afraid to say no, I don't think that will have a bearing," he opined.

The pit lane reporter continued.

"George could be leading the world championship… okay, maybe that would have a bearing, but Toto will, as we've been saying, in all likelihood, if he gets the opportunity, sign Verstappen up for the future. And I don't think, such is the unrelentingly cutthroat nature of Formula 1, I don't think he would think twice about replacing George Russell or Kimi [Antonelli]."

Verstappen's speculated exit from the Milton Keynes team has become a more realistic possibility as the team struggles to retain the dominance it saw over the past few years since the ground effect regulations began. Just four race weekends into the season, the team sits third in the constructors' standings, 80 points behind leaders McLaren. 

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

The Dutchman has claimed one win this season at the Japanese Grand Prix - a fitting celebration of his partnership with Honda which will be coming to an end at the close of the season - but Bahrain saw the team struggle like never before. Not only was the car a challenging beast to drive for the four-time champion, but technical errors from the team only compounded this, resulting in a sixth place finish for the driver. 

Team-mate Yuki Tsunoda finished in ninth.

"Very alarming," Marko told Motorsport.com and other media following the race. "We know that we are not competitive and there will be parts coming in the coming races and hopefully they bring improvement.

"We have a lot of problems. The main problem is balance and grip. And out of this, so I guess the problems with the brakes came up. And then the normal procedure like a pitstop is not working, so one [issue] comes after the other."

Despite his words connecting Verstappen and the Brackley team, Kravitz believes that Mercedes may not be the best fit for the driver, considering his strong rivalry with them in the past, especially 2021. 

"I know a lot of water's been under the bridge since 2021. I'm not talking about Abu Dhabi. I'm talking about the intense nature of the fight between Mercedes and Red Bull in 2021 - the Silverstone accident - where Max and his manager and his dad were furious with Toto Wolff for celebrating, quote, 'like he'd won the world championship,' when Lewis won that race without, they felt, a thought for Max's well-being and a trip to Northampton General."

He continued: "So, there has to be—I know there's a lot of water under the bridge since then—but I just feel that it's more of a cultural fit for Max to go to Aston Martin than Mercedes. I see that happening more and hoping that the Honda will be as good as the Mercedes power unit in 2026. But knowing that Aston have Adrian [Newey] and Mercedes don't."

Speculation surrounding Verstappen's possible move to Aston Martin is also rife. 

"Everybody's talking about it in the paddock. There's no two ways about it. You go up to people from Dutch media - some of them are saying, 'We think it's done already.' Others are saying, 'He's in discussions.'"