George Russell is out of contract at the end of the season and Mercedes have been courting Max Verstappen amid ongoing speculation that he could walk away from Red Bull

The Dutchman holds the record for the most wins in a single year (19 in 2023), along with the most consecutive grand prix victories (10 between Miami and Italy in 2023)

Series leader Oscar Piastri outpaced defending champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull to top the times for McLaren in Friday's opening free practice at the Belgian Grand Prix. Piastri and Verstappen led the gang with the Australian going top in 1:42.

Max Verstappen has been heavily linked with a switch away from Red Bull to Formula 1 rivals Mercedes for months, with speculation intensifying since boss Christian Horner was axed

Oscar Piastri topped the Belgian Grand Prix’s sole practice session with a comfortable margin over Max Verstappen ahead of Sprint qualifying later today.

Mercedes is yet to name its 2026 F1 drivers. With interest from Red Bull's Max Verstappen, Luke Smith argues he should join George Russell

In the three weeks since the British Grand Prix, Max Verstappen’s future has been the talk of the F1 world and it appeared all but certain he was headed to Mercedes.

Max Verstappen has denied holding any secret talks with Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff after fans discovered that both F1 figures were spending their breaks ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix holidaying in Sardinia.

Max Verstappen has fielded questions from the media for the first time since Christian Horner was removed as his Red Bull F1 team boss

Nelson Piquet Jr, the brother in law of Max Verstappen, has seemingly backtracked on his claim that the Red Bull driver will be with Mercedes for the F1 2026 season. And he has raised the theory that Red Bull sacked team principal Christian Horner in a bid to convince the reigning four-time World Champion to stay for next season.