On Top of the World [Max Verstappen - Book 3]

5.5

Elodie Carter to Mercedes for 2027 and beyond in a multi-year deal
The double world champion released a promo video for her announcement that she was moving from Red Bull to Mercedes for next year and beyond in an undisclosed multi-year deal. The 26-year-old, who was the first female driver to win the world championship, and the youngest to do so said that it felt like she was 'going home. Having struggled through the last couple of years with Red Bull's blatant preferential treatment towards her counterpart and good friend Max Verstappen it shouldn't be such a surprise that she's leaving and yet it is in what proves to be a dramatic reshuffle in the lineup for next season in the last week of this season.
Pierre Gasly is due to take her seat in replacement of Carter and Nyck DeVries, the driver Elodie ousted from his seat in Mercedes' heads into the empty seat of the Alpha Tauri to partner Liam Lawson.

Double World Champion moves from Red Bull to Mercedes in shock team change
Elodie Carter makes shocking announcement days before the Abu Dhabi GP that she is moving from Red Bull to Mercedes in a move that seemed to surprise many. Other drivers have stated that they weren't expecting the news as Elodie has grown very fond of the Austrian team but during a press conference regarding the shock decision Elodie said that she felt "wasn't able to see a future where I could stay due to the environment that was developing" and that the Red Bull team weren't able to meet her in the middle a single one of the changes in the contract she was asking for, noting that just one concession would have probably led to her staying with the team but that they simply weren't willing to give her any room to make her feel wanted. "It's a real shame because they gave me a real opportunity. I like to think I repaid them well for that with my loyalty and the championships I earned them, but I don't think this will be so confusing if people were to look at the data and the difference between mine and Max's cars all-season long - especially regarding the weight. I had a good four years with them but I'm definitely looking forward to a new start with Mercedes and as I said in the video, it's a bit like coming home!"
Her voice is enthusiastic but her eyes seem nervous and edgy, demonstrating honesty from the young driver who, as she rightly points out, has been moved to second priority in the team for a long time now to her clear frustration. Elodie doesn't just take with her talents and experience but roughly $10-$20 million as well, in sponsorship agreements to her new team, leaving Red Bull scrambling to fill the holes that she's leaving in a move that an inside source claim was very valid from Carter but not well thought through by the Austrian team. Some fans have pointed to statements that Jos Verstappen, Max's dad, became more demanding the last couple of years after his son was beaten twice by his teammate and this could have led to their current dilemma.
According to Elodie, the move came from a random conversation with retiring 8-time world champion Lewis Hamilton where he simply asked the question as to whether she was interested in returning to the team she was a member of the training academy for after Elodie vented her apparent frustrations with the team management. Asking if she was leaving on good terms, Elodie shrugged her shoulders and looked uncertain, saying she "has a lot of love for the engineers and strategists and for Max himself, but the rest of it...maybe not." Later she mentioned that she had told Horner when signing with the team back in 2022 that she would be loyal to them as long as they were to her, signalling that the rumours are true regarding her frustration towards the team's preferential treatment of her teammate Max Verstappen.

Fans concerned for Elodie Carter and Max Verstappen's friendship after video resurfaces
F1 fans have made viral a video from an interview years ago where Elodie said that being teammates made her and Max closer than they otherwise would have been. Fans are worried that with the new announcement of Elodie switching teams that the pair may struggle to remain close, especially as Elodie makes the move back to her old sponsorship team Mercedes' who historically her current teammate does not get along with at all.
What do you think? Will this move cause tension in the pair that we know and love?