Max Verstappen has dismissed the latest rumours linking him with a switch to Mercedes, saying even a €250 million contract would not be enough to tempt him.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is keen to sign Verstappen to replace Lewis Hamilton for next season, with the ongoing political uncertainty at Red Bull and the looming departure of Adrian Newey as Chief Technical Officer.
But the team is struggling on-track compared to Verstappen and Red Bull, with the driver having won 24 races since Mercedes' last at the 2022 São Paulo Grand Prix.
Reports surfaced ahead of the Miami GP that Mercedes had offered Verstappen a €150 million contract to lure him from Milton Keynes - but the three-time world champion has rubbished any sum could be enough, given the competitive state at the moment.
"My future is within within Red Bull at the moment," Verstappen told media including RacingNews365 in Miami.
When the figure of €150 million was put to the Dutchman by RacingNews365, Verstappen added that money was not the overriding objective for him.
"At the end of the day, let's say that would be the case, €150 million, but that money is not going to be the differentiator for me to go somewhere.
"[Even €250 million isn't enough], because I'm happy with what I am earning and it is about performance.
"Because I know that if I was driving for P5 or P6, I'd get quite grumpy and so it is always about performance - everyone knows that. Toto also knows that."
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The 2026 question
Wolff is pinning his hopes of signing Verstappen on the promise of Mercedes' acing the 2026 power unit regulations, as it did with the change to turbo hybrids in 2014.
Whilst other power unit manufacturers have years of experience, Red Bull's in-house Red Bull Powertrains division is starting from scratch and is believed not to have had promising initial data from test runs.
It is something Verstappen acknowledged.
"Everyone should always be optimistic and hopeful about things, but at the moment, I can stay I want to stay with the team because I believe in the project that we have with everyone involved," he said.
"But in sport, and also in life, you don't know what is going to happen. Who knows who is going to be the most competitive in 2026?
"It is not something I'm really thinking about too much at the moment, there is so much going on this year with the performance and I want to do well this year, and next year as well where we still have a great chance of doing well.
"So 2026, in that sense, is quite far away."
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