Should Max Verstappen join Mercedes? Lewis Hamilton has his say

Lewis Hamilton says he would recommend Max Verstappen joins Mercedes, while also recognising Red Bull as a “great team”

Verstappen’s F1 future continues to be a hot topic ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Verstappen’s media session with the written press was packed out.

The four-time world champion answered questions about which team he will drive for next year.

The 27-year-old reiterated that nothing has changed regarding his Red Bull future amid fresh reports of an approach from Mercedes.

Earlier this week, Sky Italia reported that Verstappen had agreed to join Mercedes for next year.

However, their report seems to have been untrue.

George Russell and Kimi Antonelli addressed speculation on Thursday at Silverstone.

Russell was adamant that he would be with Mercedes in 2026.

Antonelli, who’s in his rookie season, said that Mercedes have complete “trust” in him.

Hamilton spent 12 years at Mercedes, winning six of his seven world titles.

The 40-year-old decided to leave the Brackley-based outfit for Ferrari ahead of the 2025 season.

Hamilton weighs in on Verstappen rumours

Lewis Hamilton was asked whether he’d advise Max Verstappen to join his former team.

The British driver replied “of course” before referring to some comments he made during his time at McLaren, where he said Red Bull were simply an “drinks company”

“Of course. I mean, he’s coming from a great team,” Hamilton said at Silverstone, where Crash.net are in the paddock.

“Many many years ago I was asked something about something... I can’t remember.

“I think I was just so diehard like Mercedes at the time, and I remember saying something about Red Bull being only a drinks company and I always regretted it because I was just saying that Mercedes [McLaren in 2011] at the time was just great, I was really just trying to gee up my team, but the truth is, Red Bull have been an incredible team, there’s so many people there that are exceptional and they’ve dominated for years.

“What I can say if someone, anyone was going to ask me about Mercedes is that it is an amazing team also, with naturally the passion. They’ve got great personnel, it’s a great factory, great environment to work in.

“So of course I would say [yes] be interested to see what happens.”