According to the report, Verstappen has agreed to an offer from the German marque’s F1 boss Toto Wolff.

The Dutchman is currently contracted to Red Bull through to 2028. However, contract clauses leave the door open for an early exit.

According to the Sky Sport Italia report, Mercedes incumbent George Russell would make way for Verstappen to partner Kimi Antonelli.

Russell is off-contract, and although Mercedes boss Wolff said he is happy with the Brit, the opportunity to hire four-time world champion Verstappen may well be irresistible.

The team principal has made it no secret that he would like to have Verstappen in the Silver Arrows camp.

However, when pressed about the issue at the Austrian Grand Prix, Wolff said Russell “needs to be top of the list” because of his status as a race winner and former Mercedes junior.

“He has been part of our program since 10 years or so. He’s always performed to the expectations that we have set, and he’s continuing to do so,” said Wolff.

“We haven’t given him a car to win a world championship in the last three years, so that’s completely on us. And the times the car has been good, he has been winning races.

“And you can see today (during Friday practice at the Austrian Grand Prix), he’s always there.

“You know that when he’s getting in the car, he’s going to extract what is in the car.

“Having said that, for whatever reason, in early summer, those kinds of contract discussions start to end up being accelerated in the media or accelerated because of a lack of information.

“What I have been doing the last 30 years in a normal business, contract discussions are not being held as town halls. So, everything is normal. Everything goes to plan.”

Russell threw a spanner in the works by indicating that Wolff’s conversations with Verstappen were stalling his own contract negotiations.

However, he felt his own efforts were enough to cement his seat.

Russell won the Canadian Grand Prix at Montreal and is fourth in the drivers’ championship, nine points in arrears of Verstappen.

“As Mercedes, they want to be back on top, and if you’re going to be back on top you need to make sure you’ve got the best drivers, the best engineers, the best pit crew, and that’s what Mercedes are chasing,” said Russell.

“So, it’s only normal that conversations with the likes of Verstappen are ongoing. I feel with the performance I’m showing at the moment, I’ve got zero reasons to be worried.”

Wolff, when posed with Russell’s comments, said it was territory he didn’t want to discuss.

“People talk, people explore, and most important is that in our organisation, we are transparent,” said Wolff.

“But it doesn’t change a millimetre of my opinion of George, his abilities, or anything else.”

Asked what his deadline was to decide the line-up of Mercedes for 2026, Wolff said a decision on its driver would be made “in the next couple of months” during the summer break.

Verstappen hasn’t helped quell speculation about his future at Red Bull. During Thursday’s press conference before the Austrian Grand Prix, he barked at questions about his future.

“I’ve had that question before as well in my life,” Verstappen replied when asked if he would be at Red Bull next year.

“Yeah. I don’t think we need to talk about that. I don’t know, do you want me to repeat what I said last year? I don’t know. It’s the same answer.

“I don’t even remember what I said last year, really. But again, it’s not really on my mind. Just driving well, trying to push the performance, and then we focus on next year.”

For Red Bull, the rampant speculation is just “a lot of noise”, according to team principal Christian Horner.

“I think Max gets quite annoyed by it,” said Horner.

“We are very clear with the contract that we have with Max until 2028.

“So, anything is entirely speculative that is being said, but we tend not to pay too much attention to it.”

Speaking with Sky Sports F1, Wolff downplayed the likelihood of getting Verstappen onboard.

“I think when you look at the situation we have with Kimi and George, we have a perfect line-up that we very much enjoy and that we believe is the future,” said Wolff.

“But, at the same time, there is a four-time world champion that needs to decide what he is going to do in the future and that is just, as a team principal, you need to see where that is going.

“But I think I give it a very little probability that it’s going to happen.”

So, do the so-called conversations have substance? Wolff said he always has a long-term view.

“Nothing needs in a way to come favourable for us, because with George and Kimi is what we want to be and what we want to continue,” he explained.

“But in order to plan right for the long-term future you’ve got to understand what other people do.”