Toto Wolff responds to the criticisms of the Red Bull boss
Toto Wolff declares that the criticisms of Red Bull chief, Oliver Mintzlaff, towards him regarding his desire to sign Max Verstappen at Mercedes are "irrelevant", as he denies "playing chess" with Formula 1 drivers.
Mercedes boss came under fire from Oliver Mintzlaff during the Miami Grand Prix. The CEO of Red Bull energy drinks company was not happy that Mercedes was trying to poach Verstappen from his current team.
« I understand the pressure that Toto Wolff and maybe other teams are facing after years of delay. But I think Toto Wolff should focus on his challenges. Enough of them », said Oliver Mintzlaff to the German media, Bild am Sonntag.
« And it’s also a question of respect. If I keep talking about the staff of other teams, it’s not right », the German continued.
Toto Wolff is completely indifferent to what was said. « I don’t know what this guy is commenting on, it’s not relevant to me. »
There were rumors that Mercedes was planning a meeting with Max Verstappen and his representatives this week to discuss a potential agreement for 2025. Toto Wolff denied the facts. However, he clearly stated that he continued to closely monitor the transfer market, although it was still too early to be definitive about the plans for the second driver of his team for 2025.
« There are always a lot of meetings,” he said. « I can’t really say something definitive about the second pilot. I think we discussed the possibilities, and I want to be fair to these guys and not give the impression that we are playing chess with humans because that’s not the case.”
« We want to take our time, see where Max’s thinking is going, and at the same time, keep an eye on the other drivers. Carlos [Sainz] was very strong again today and that’s why we are in observation mode for the moment.
While Mercedes waits to see what Verstappen will decide, its other obvious option is junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The young Italian has been at the center of speculation during the Miami weekend regarding a possible move to Williams, the team has requested an F1 superlicense waiver from the FIA for him because he is under 18 years old.
Toto Wolff declared that Mercedes has no interest in seeing him race in F1 now. So many stories have been created, and this does not help him because he needs to focus on his campaign in F2. He is doing a lot of testing for us to get him to the right level and I think the decision on the second driver is still weeks, if not months away. We have not approached the FIA for an early release.
