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Max Verstappen‘s former physio Bradley Scanes replied “never say never” when asked about the prospect of the Dutchman leaving Red Bull.

Verstappen’s future is up in the air following design chief Adrian Newey’s exit, as Scanes refused to rule out the possibility of the three-time world champion joining Mercedes.

“Max not in a Red Bull suit would be very weird,” he said on the Sky Sports F1 podcast. “He’s grown up in that team, he loves the team, he loves the mentality of the team – but you could also never say never.

“I think, as long as they’re competitive, he’ll still be there. That might change because he always wants to win. And if he doesn’t see a future of winning, then that might be when things change.

“In terms of longevity in the sport, he probably isn’t someone that’s going to stick around for a (Fernando) Alonso or (Lewis) Hamilton length of time. He’ll get done what he wants to get done.

“And when he feels happy that he’s achieved everything he wants to achieve – whether that’s when he’s 29, when he’s 30 or when he’s 34 – that will be up to him.”