Former McLaren world champion Mika Hakkinen believes signing Max Verstappen would "rock the boat" at his old team.

Verstappen's future has been the subject of rife debate for the past year, especially amid his struggles at Red Bull under the new regulations this season.

The four-time Formula One champion is currently sixth in the drivers' standings and is yet to win a race in 2026, having finished on the podium just four times so far.

He has suggested he would quit F1 entirely, comparing the sport to “Mario Kart” following the introduction of the new regulations, but he does have the option of a move elsewhere, with an exit clause reportedly in his contract that he can trigger by October.

Verstappen was linked to Mercedes last season, and this year, reports suggest McLaren CEO Zak Brown has been exploring a swap deal with Red Bull.

In that scenario, Oscar Piastri would go the other way, though the Australian's manager, Mark Webber, has denied his driver is looking for a move and dismissed the reports.

Both Piastri and reigning champion Lando Norris have multiple years left on their McLaren contracts, and Hakkinen believes bringing in Verstappen could interrupt the team's momentum.

"It's very interesting, you know," Hakkinen, who won the drivers' championship in 1998 and 1999 with the British team, said while speaking with old McLaren team-mate David Coulthard on the 'Up To Speed' podcast.

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"It's not only Max out there, of course. There are many other drivers. But what I have seen, how McLaren operates, they want to really look at the overall team package all the time.

"And because that's the only way to achieve success, [which] is to build incredible team spirit power inside.

"And you try to sometimes, in my opinion, I would, if you would ask me what I would do, I would like to minimise that risk. That way you lose this kind of team spirit.

"You know, if the team has two great drivers, why rock the boat? And of course, McLaren having a world champion [Norris]."

Verstappen is currently 110 points behind drivers' championship leader Kimi Antonelli in the standings after 11 races.

Red Bull, meanwhile, are 202 points off the pace set by Mercedes in the constructors' championship, with Ferrari and McLaren also above them.

The F1 season is currently on its summer break – with Verstappen finishing second in the Hungarian Grand Prix in the last race – and it will resume with his home event, the Dutch Grand Prix on August 23.