Jos Verstappen ‘the warmonger’ as Red Bull told to ‘panic’ over Mercedes swoop

Jos Verstappen has been referred to as “the warmonger” at Red Bull by ex-F1 driver Johnny Herbert, who says the team should “panic” over the prospect of losing Max Verstappen to Mercedes.

While Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has given up on luring Verstappen away from Red Bull for next season, an F1 2026 move is still the topic of intense speculation, with the dominance which Red Bull had enjoyed since the start of F1’s ground effect era in 2022 having now dried up.

Max Verstappen to Mercedes: Red Bull told to ‘panic’

Additional reporting by Sam Cooper

The Formula 1 rulebook will be re-written for F1 2026 with new chassis and power units arriving, adding an extra layer to this Verstappen to Mercedes speculation.

And Herbert believes Red Bull should “panic” about these rumours becoming reality, arguing that Red Bull appear to have “an unhappy driver” on their hands, while Herbert pointed to Max’s father Jos as the “warmonger” in this situation.

Jos has not shied away from criticising Red Bull team principal Christian Horner so far in F1 2024, while he made his frustrations publicly clear to Red Bull after the Dutch Grand Prix, where Max finished 23 seconds behind race winner Lando Norris at his home race.

Speaking about the Red Bull situation to Poker Apps LTD , Herbert said: “Jos has said 2026 is something he and Max are focusing on. Everything has completely changed. They’ve lost their chief designer [Adrian Newey], they’ve really started to struggle.

“They’re still in the mix for a race [win] but their early season dominance has gone. McLaren and especially Lando have gone up to the next level or two. Then you start thinking, ‘Right, where do I need to be for the future?’

“The rumours are that Mercedes seem to be ahead of everybody else for the 2026 rule changes. That’s the type of trigger you would think that Max and his team would be saying, ‘Maybe we need to jump.’

“I think it would be foolish if those conversations didn’t happen between Max and Mercedes. As an ex-driver, I think I would be trying to look to the future.

“Toto would be foolish if he did not further the conversation and I think Max would be the right person for them for the future. Who would not want Max Verstappen?

“Christian Horner and Helmut Marko [Red Bull senior advisor] are saying we don’t have to panic yet. But panic is something I think they should be thinking about, because I think they’re in a very, very different situation. And they’ve got, as I see it, an unhappy driver.

“The warmonger has been Jos. He has been very much at the forefront of criticism of the Red Bull set up and Christian especially.

“Can they promise him enough for the coming years? I’m not so sure. I think there is a big question mark on what they are able to show Max in terms of the direction that will allow him to carry on trying to win those world championships.

“Because of that, and because of the way Jos is, and because of the way Max is, they are probably doubting the position that they’re in at the present time because it’s fallen off of the cliff very quickly. Very, very quickly.

“As for civil war? Not yet perhaps. There’s no battle yet. No, but it’s building. There is definitely a sense of it’s building within.

“There is always going to be a breaking point because the things are not going the way they want it to.”

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With Verstappen to Mercedes not happening for F1 2025, that provides a further boost for Mercedes junior Kimi Antonelli, who will make his debut with the team in FP1 at his home race, the Italian Grand Prix. It has been rumoured that he will be confirmed as Lewis Hamilton’s F1 2025 replacement at Monza.

However, Herbert believes that any Antonelli deal does make matters more complicated when it comes to signing Verstappen, with the Italian to line-up alongside George Russell from next season if he gets the nod.

Herbert said: “There is a press call this weekend. If the deal is done with Antonelli, then that obviously makes things that little bit more complicated, because it’s then going to be very, very hard to say, ‘Sorry, Kimi, we have signed a contract, but we’re thinking of maybe signing Max’.

“I don’t know if it has been done or not with Antonelli.”

Mercedes went into the F1 2024 summer break with major momentum after three victories from the last four races, but the Dutch GP proved a bitter pill to swallow with Russell finishing P7, while Hamilton recovered to P8 after a shock Q2 exit and a three-place grid drop for impeding Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.

And considering Wolff’s public pursuit of Verstappen, Horner could not resist getting a little dig in there.

When speaking to media including PlanetF1.com, it was put to Horner that Red Bull’s dry patch – the team without a win since June’s Spanish GP – could influence Verstappen’s thinking over his Red Bull future. Horner replied: “It’s down to us to deliver. We have an agreement until 2028, so it’s down to us to deliver.

“I didn’t see Toto’s car performing that well.

“2028 is a long way away. It’s down to us to provide a race-winning car.

“Every contract has a performance [clause] element in it.

“We’re not going to talk about what those elements are, but as long as we provide a competitive car we know what the situation is.”

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