Max Verstappen tipped to sign 'multi-year' 2026 Mercedes deal

Former F1 team principal Guenther Steiner has tipped four-time world champion Max Verstappen to sign a multi-year deal with Mercedes in the 2026 season.

Verstappen has been linked with a move to the Brackley-based outfit for most of this year, amid Red Bull's struggles and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff revealing that talks were ongoing over a potential transfer for the 2026 season.

However, at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Verstappen revealed that he will stay at Red Bull for the 2026 season, taking the Milton Keynes outfit into a new era.

That has not stopped rumours surrounding his long-term future though, with Red Bull continuing to struggle and certain exit clauses understood to be in Verstappen's Red Bull contract that would allow him to leave if the team don't provide him with a championship-contending car.

Now, Steiner has suggested that Verstappen will sign a deal with Mercedes in 2026, in order to move to Wolff's team for the 2027 season onwards.

"Max knows he has the option to leave Red Bull at the end of 2026," Steiner told Web.de. "That gives him the most flexibility. If Red Bull proves surprisingly strong, then he's in the right place. If not, he can see who's leading and switch teams.

"If Mercedes is strong from 2026 onwards, he'll sign a multi-year contract there. It would be much riskier to move now and sign a long-term deal."

Will Verstappen leave Red Bull?

Following wholesale regulation changes that are sweeping into the sport in 2026, Verstappen will have an opportunity to see which team has mastered those regulations.

Mercedes have been rumoured to be making the biggest jump on their competition in 2026, but Red Bull will also be buoyant as they head into a new era of power unit production in partnership with Ford.

The team also have a new team principal, with Laurent Mekies recently having taken over from long-serving boss Christian Horner.

Steiner does not, however, believe that these changes will be enough to boost them back into championship contention and therefore tempt Verstappen to stay with the team long term.

"It could take years," the Italian continued. "Right now, things are going in the wrong direction rather than the right direction at Red Bull. Laurent Mekies faces a huge task.

"Good people have left and flown to other teams. He now has to bring in new top talent, and that's difficult. Moreover, Red Bull is building its own power unit with Ford, that's a huge project. The first year certainly won't go smoothly, they'll be at the front in 2026, but not at the very top. There's still a gap to the top."

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