Max Verstappen 'disruption' prevents seismic F1 transfer

A former F1 racer has suggested that the 'disruption' that Max Verstappen causes is putting some teams off trying to sign him.

Verstappen is a four-time world champion, and is therefore one of the most sought-after prospects on the F1 grid.

He has been publicly pursued by Toto Wolff's Mercedes team in both 2024 and 2025, but the Dutchman has confirmed that he will be sticking with his current Red Bull team for 2026.

However, his future beyond that is still uncertain, with Guenther Steiner saying that Verstappen will sign with a new team for 2027 once he knows which team have mastered the upcoming regulation changes.

Now, Juan Pablo Montoya has said that, despite Verstappen's obvious talent, not every team will want him, stating that he would struggle to get a place at McLaren if they happen to be the dominant team once again post-regulation changes.

Verstappen's driving style causes mixed emotions among fans and pundits, and he has regularly been in trouble with race stewards, including earlier this year when he appeared to intentionally crash into Mercedes' George Russell.

"Verstappen is going to look at options but what are the options that might be open to him," Montoya told Coin Poker. "Do you think every team on the grid really wants Max? I‘m not so sure.

"The way that McLaren is running with the two guys and they are in harmony in the team, would you bring Max as a disruption to that team?

"Toto Wolff at Mercedes is a guy who wants to win whatever the cost. I think Toto is a different kind of racer than the McLaren group. The McLaren group is in a groove, it's peace and love and everybody's happy and we're best friends and we hold hands when we go racing together."

Will Verstappen leave Red Bull?

Strictly speaking, Verstappen is contracted with Red Bull until the end of the 2028 season, but Helmut Marko has already revealed that there are performance-based exit clauses in that deal.

The Dutchman will need to see marked improvement from the Milton Keynes-based outfit to even consider sticking around, having only won two of the first 14 races of the year up to this point.

Red Bull do, however, have a new team principal in Laurent Mekies to guide them into a new era, and are also ending their Honda power unit contract and instead producing their own in partnership with Ford from next season.

They will hope that this will bring them instant success in 2026, when new regulations are implemented into the sport.

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