A Formula One world champion has warned Max Verstappen against moving to Mercedes, but has said Kimi Antonelli should lose his seat if he does.
Verstappen’s departure from Red Bull seems all but certain. Red Bull are fourth in the Constructors’ standings with an average car. Meanwhile, Mercedes are rumoured to have the best car for 2026.
It seems like a no-brainer, but a former world champion disagrees. He issued a warning to the four-time world champion, Verstappen, that the grass is not always greener on the other side.
Jenson Button warns Max Verstappen about going to Mercedes, ‘Is it going to work for him?’
2009 Formula One Drivers’ Champion Jenson Button wonders whether Verstappen’s potential move to Mercedes is as sure to be successful as people assume.
Button, who had his fair share of driver moves in F1, spoke to Chris Moyles on Radio X to discuss the situation.
He said, “It’s a tricky one for Max, because he’s in a position where he’s doing so well with Red Bull – they’ve given him so much over the years.
“They’ve designed this car around him, and he’s extremely good at it. Nobody can match him in that car. They’re so far off him. I mean, him qualifying third or fourth, and them qualifying 18th.”
Red Bull’s second driver issues have gotten exponentially worse this season. Liam Lawson lasted two races at Red Bull, and Yuki Tsunoda hasn’t been too much better. Many attribute that to the car being set up in an extreme manner to suit Verstappen.
That wouldn’t be the case at Mercedes. No matter his teammate, he’ll be driving alongside one of the most talented drivers on the F1 grid, and won’t be getting such extreme preferential treatment at a new team.
Button said he thinks Verstappen, one of F1’s all-time greats, should be able to make that work. But he isn’t certain.
He continued, “If he goes to Mercedes, it’s a different thing altogether. You know, that car is not going to be designed around him. So, is it going to work for him? I don’t know. I mean, the best in the world should be able to make that work for him.”
George Russell should be Max Verstappen’s teammate instead of Kimi Antonelli, says Jenson Button
The common consensus is that if Verstappen joins Mercedes, Antonelli will be his teammate, and George Russell will lose his seat.
Button, who was teammates with Lewis Hamilton like Russell, questioned this logic.
He said, “It’s a tough one on George, because George is at the top of his game. I think he’s been so competitive. When you see what he did against Lewis [Hamilton] in the last few years, he is World Championship material.”
Antonelli shares similarities with Verstappen. He was a Mercedes project through his junior career, as Verstappen was a Red Bull project, and promoted to a race winning car at an extremely young age.
Verstappen became one of Red Bull’s greatest ever drivers, but there’s no guarantee the same will happen for Antonelli.
Button continued, “So, to replace him with Max, it just seems like a strange move. I know they’ve got the young Kimi Antonelli, who’s 18, who could be a future star. But we still don’t know that.”
“Whereas George is there, he is good, and you need two very competitive drivers with this new era of the sport. Next year, obviously lots of regulation changes, car change, engine change. So, for me, George and Max would be a better line-up. I would love to see it!”
The issue, of course, would be that Antonelli leaves and becomes a world champion somewhere else. But since Verstappen has eaten teammates alive in recent years, perhaps the Verstappen move would be the worst thing for him.