Mercedes were initially the favorite to sign Max Verstappen in 2015, as they had the dominant car back then. If the Silver Arrows had managed to sign the Dutchman, they could have arguably had the most dominant partnership of all time with Lewis Hamilton as their other driver. Hence, Helmut Marko and Red Bull played the ultimate strategic game to ensure this did not happen.
With Verstappen delivering week in and week out in GP3, Mercedes was desperate to sign him to GP2. However, such a move would have meant that the Dutchman would have taken at least an extra year to get to Formula 1.
As a result, Red Bull advisor Marko came up with an offer that Max and his father, Jos Verstappen, could not refuse. And this was a direct entry into F1 from GP3.
This offer finally helped the Milton Keynes outfit get their man, having seen one of their previous attempts fail. After Max’s outstanding karting success, Red Bull had previously attempted to sign him for their drivers’ program. An offer that Jos had refused at the time.
Helmut Marko beat Niki Lauda to signing Max Verstappen
Two Austrian rivals, Helmut Marko and Niki Lauda, competed against each other to sign Max Verstappen for their respective teams. Marko had discussions with the Verstappen family on behalf of Red Bull, while Lauda had discussions on behalf of Mercedes.
With two of the top teams in F1 battling it out to sign Max, Jos knew he had leverage. Hence, he openly had discussions with both Lauda and Marko before he came up with the best decision for his son. According to motorsportmagazine.com, the Silver Arrows offered Max a seat in GP2.
The team did so to prepare the Dutchman for a seat in F1. Since Mercedes dominated the sport at the time, Marko knew that he had to come up with a bold offer. And he did just that.
The 80-year-old offered Max a seat directly into F1 with Red Bull’s junior team, Torro Rosso (now AlphaTauri). Since Marko offered Max a deal that would fulfill his ultimate dream of getting to F1, he could not refuse it. In doing so, Marko pulled off the trump card and snatched Max from under Lauda’s nose.
Verstappen’s career could have been entirely different had he moved to Mercedes
If Verstappen had accepted Mercedes’ offer for a seat in GP2, the Dutchman most likely would have taken a couple of seasons just to get to F1. This is because the Silver Arrows had an extremely strong partnership at the time with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
Moreover, even if Verstappen would have joined the Mercedes F1 team eventually, he may have needed to play second fiddle to Hamilton. This would have most likely been detrimental to his career, as he may not have made the progress he has now.
With Verstappen moving to Toro Rosso in 2015, he was able to take a season to get adjusted to the requirements of F1. And once he was settled, Red Bull moved him to the senior team the very next season.
And ever since Verstappen has moved to Red Bull, he has been exceptional. The Dutchman kickstarted his life with Red Bull by winning his debut race for the team back in 2016. And in the process, he also scripted the record of becoming the youngest driver in history to win an F1 race.
Five years later, he won his maiden championship before defending his title the season after. And considering the start that Verstappen has had this year, he could very well win his third title with the team.
