Mercedes have been told “it’s not all about money” by David Coulthard in response to their interest in signing Max Verstappen.
Mercedes are still yet to name their replacement for Lewis Hamilton, who will go to Ferrari next year.
Toto Wolff has openly courted Verstappen at stages of this season, when the turmoil within Red Bull threatened to spill over. But now, Andrea Kimi Antonelli is likelier to replace Hamilton.
“In Monaco there was a meeting between Toto, Jim Ratcliffe of INEOS, and Ola Källenius, who is the chief executive of Mercedes,” Eddie Jordan claimed on the Formula For Success podcast.
“Together they put together a fighting fund to cover off the possibility of a salary requirement for Max.
“Max was aware of it. I’m not sure he was at the meeting,” Jordan alleged.
He continued: “Surely that gives some indication of the steely commitment from Toto and his team, to actually get Max on board at some stage?
“We shouldn’t be surprised to see Max in a Mercedes in the coming years.”
Ex-F1 driver Coulthard responded: “Max is the highest-earning driver in Formula 1. Maybe that will swing to Lewis at Ferrari, I don’t know.
“It’s not all about the money, it’s about the performance.
“You can put together a fighting fund but all the money being spent on the driver isn’t being spent on the car.”
Jordan offered examples from his time as an F1 boss, when he convinced sponsors to pay up to land Damon Hill.
“I always wanted young drivers because they were better value,” he insisted.
“I would have gone for Oscar Piastri…”
‘ROLLING THE DICE FOR FUTURE PERFORMANCE’
Sky Sports’ Martin Brundle insisted at last weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix that any paperwork that may have previously insisted allowing Verstappen a ‘get-out clause’ on the condition that Helmut Marko first left Red Bull is no longer in play.
Coulthard previously said: “I have not had sight of the contract, but if I believe the paddock rumour, then he has a contract. He’ll be at Red Bull.
“As long as the car and the team give him belief that he can battle for grand prix victories, I don’t see that changing.
“He’s comfortable there, happy there. As we’ve seen with Lewis, just because you decide to go somewhere else, it doesn’t mean you’re going somewhere better.
“At the moment he decided to go to Ferrari, they were stronger than Mercedes. Now, Mercedes are stronger than Ferrari.
“You are rolling the dice for where the future performance will be.
“When teams are winning, they look at each other nodding – ‘how great are we? We’ve achieved our technical targets…’
“Then that same team – whether it be Red Bull after the Sebastian Vettel years when the focus was on the engine – it’s easy to point a finger at something outside of your control.
“At McLaren if we had issues, Ron Dennis was comfortable saying it was the Mercedes, because he didn’t build the engine.
“Within these marriages of convenience, there is always finger pointing.
“After success comes a lack of success. People say ‘I was part of a winning team, which one is getting it wrong?’
“It’s difficult to put up your hand and say ‘I got the numbers wrong’.”
The onset of the new F1 regulations from 2026 may offer Mercedes a new opportunity to land Verstappen.
Their engine is mooted as a valuable commodity when the regulations kick in, and might prove tempting for top drivers.
Coulthard added about Verstappen’s long-term future: “He could go to Mercedes. He can’t go to Ferrari for the next two years unless Charles or Lewis get fired, or they walk away, because they have firm contracts.
“Logically that only leaves a move to Mercedes. Toto has been open – his style of management is to say ‘yes, he’s a target’.
“McLaren have two brilliant drivers, two No1s which will become complicated.
I see Max staying at Red Bull but Mercedes is somewhere he could move to.”
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