Ralf Schumacher Claims Verstappen Rejected Mercedes

Formula 1, Sportrik Media - Ralf Schumacher has claimed that Max Verstappen received an offer to join Mercedes, but did not consider it because the financial terms were reportedly too low. The former Formula 1 driver’s statement has not been confirmed by Verstappen, Mercedes or Red Bull Racing, meaning it remains a third-party claim rather than a verified contractual development.

Schumacher presented the information on the Backstage Boxengasse podcast while discussing the options available to Verstappen should he leave Red Bull. He suggested there was no realistic vacancy at Ferrari, while Mercedes had reportedly opened the door through a proposal from its team principal. However, Schumacher argued that the financial conditions attached to the offer made the potential transfer unattractive to the four-time world champion.

“At Mercedes, you hear that Wolff has made him an offer behind the scenes. But that offer was apparently so bad financially that it was not an option,” Schumacher said.

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The claim has emerged after the competitive positions of the two teams changed significantly at the beginning of the 2026 season. Mercedes has returned to the front of the field and won six of the opening seven rounds, while Red Bull has struggled to place Verstappen in regular contention for victories. That performance difference has renewed scrutiny over Verstappen’s future, although he remains contracted to Red Bull until the end of 2028 and had already confirmed his place with the team for 2026.

Mercedes also has an internal consideration that would make signing Verstappen a complex decision. Kimi Antonelli has developed into a championship contender during his second season and leads the standings after a sequence of victories in the opening phase of the campaign. Pairing Verstappen with Antonelli would give Mercedes one of the strongest driver combinations, but it could also create an internal contest requiring careful management while both drivers pursued the same championship objectives.

Schumacher suggested the reported low-value offer may have been deliberate because Toto Wolff no longer requires Verstappen with the same urgency Mercedes might have felt during its previous period of reduced competitiveness. In his assessment, the team must also anticipate a substantial increase in Antonelli’s contractual value should the Italian maintain his development and results. Committing a major salary to Verstappen would raise the cost of the driver line-up while placing additional pressure on Mercedes’ long-term project around Antonelli.

“Why would Wolff bring the expensive Max Verstappen alongside Kimi Antonelli, the next superstar if everything goes according to plan? Then he would have two drivers in the team fighting each other,” Schumacher said.

He connected that potential risk to Mercedes’ experience when Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg contested the world championship as team-mates. Their rivalry delivered major success for Mercedes, but it also produced operational tension that peaked through collisions and repeated on-track disputes. Although a hypothetical Verstappen-Antonelli partnership cannot be directly equated with that period, the history explains why internal balance would form part of the technical and managerial assessment behind any driver decision.

Verstappen has separately expressed dissatisfaction with Formula 1’s technical direction, particularly its energy management requirements, car weight and the characteristics of the new power-unit regulations. Those comments have created a broader question over how long he intends to remain in the championship, rather than simply which team could become his next destination. However, there has been no official statement indicating that he has decided to leave Red Bull or rejected a formal Mercedes contract because of its financial value.

Schumacher’s claim therefore does not alter Verstappen’s confirmed contractual position. The immediate focus remains on whether Red Bull can reduce its performance deficit to Mercedes and Ferrari, while Mercedes must sustain its advantage in the constructors’ contest. The next round will provide another measure of Verstappen’s ability to return to the leading group, a factor likely to carry greater influence over his future than an unconfirmed contractual proposal.