Dutch ace Max Verstappen and his management team have insisted that they have no regrets about turning down Mercedes in 2014 despite the Silver Arrows winning every F1 Championship since then.
At the time, Verstappen had the option of driving for Red Bull’s sister team, Toro Rosso, in 2015, or taking up a reserve driver role at Mercedes or a GP2 drive funded by the Silver Arrows.
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With no guarantee of Lewis Hamilton or Nico Rosberg leaving the Silver Arrows anytime soon, Verstappen opted to remain loyal to Red Bull and joined Toro Rosso the following season.
Speaking to Motorsport.com on Saturday, Max Verstappen’s manager, Raymond Vermeulen, said the Dutch driver and his father, Jos, “still fully support” the decision to have rejected Mercedes in 2014.
“I think we made the right choice at the time. All three of us [Max, Jos and Vermeulen] still fully support that decision.
“I think at Red Bull, Max did get super guidance and also a super preparation for his F1 debut. We are at Red Bull and feel really comfortable there. What the future brings, is the future.
“But for the time being we are very happy with the choices we have made,” Vermeulen added.
Meanwhile, Jos Verstappen said they “definitely” made the right decision based on the information they had available to them at the time.
“At that time, with the information we had, we have definitely made the right choice.”
As for Verstappen’s future at Red Bull following Honda’s planned departure from F1 at the end of next year, Vermeulen said:
“First, we have a wonderful season ahead of us with Honda. We are very positive about what is on the shelf for next year’s engine.
“But we are also very interested in what will happen from 2022 onwards. They are very open and transparent to Max about that.
“We are waiting patiently and have every confidence that it will come to a successful conclusion.
“We all want Max to fight for the world title, but it is also nice to work towards that goal together. There is some beauty in that as well.
“So let’s hope we can succeed in doing that at Red Bull next year,” Vermeulen concluded.
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