Toto Wolff: “Mercedes must stop flirting with Verstappen”
The head of Mercedes revisited the German team's interest in the Dutch driver. An attention that he now wants to forget since his two drivers for 2025 have already been confirmed. From now on, all attention must be focused on them and no longer on the triple world champion.
The transfer of Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari shook the world of Formula 1, including at Mercedes. Toto Wolff, the boss of the German team, revealed that he had learned the news at the same time as everyone else, on the day of the announcement. This decision was poorly received by Wolff, who had a successful relationship with Hamilton. Consequently, he began to look for a potential replacement and quickly turned to Max Verstappen.
Discussions with Verstappen midway through the season
Max Verstappen, under contract with Red Bull until 2028, was racking up victories, but a delicate situation was developing internally at Red Bull. The Christian Horner affair had divided the team, creating two factions: Horner’s and Verstappen’s, led by his father, Jos. Taking advantage of this instability, Toto Wolff initiated discussions with Verstappen, especially during the summer break, to consider a possible transfer to Mercedes.
Antonelli’s choice for 2025
Although extended until 2028, Verstappen had a clause in his contract allowing him to leave Red Bull if Helmut Marko, who was at odds with Horner, were to leave. However, Marko was extended until 2026, thus putting an end to the negotiations. Mercedes then turned to their young Italian driver, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who was confirmed in the race car for 2025 during the Italian Grand Prix.
With its two confirmed drivers for 2025, Toto Wolff believes he has no reason to recruit Verstappen. « We stay in the background. I think I’ve already expressed it, and we have a similar view on Max’s side: you have to trust your drivers or your team. You have to give them the maximum support to succeed,” he said in an interview with Autosport, explaining that the Dutchman’s future will probably unfold far from Mercedes. Wolff emphasizes the importance of trusting his drivers and providing them with maximum support: « It’s only if things really go wrong that you would consider other opportunities. »
For me, it’s like flirting outside while trying to make the relationship work. It doesn’t work, I don’t flirt outside. Only if I wanted a change, or if I considered a change, would I look to start a conversation. And it’s the same on his side. I think we are pretty aligned on our values about this.
Russell and Antonelli: the future of Mercedes according to Toto Wolff
Toto Wolff is convinced that his current drivers, George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, are capable of meeting future challenges. He believes that Verstappen does not share the same values as Mercedes, particularly because he has never been part of the team’s academy, unlike Russell and Antonelli. « For me, flirting on the outside while trying to make the relationship work, it doesn’t work. I don’t flirt on the outside. »
Wolff also took the opportunity to respond to the rumors sending George Russell to Red Bull in 2025. He considers Russell as a central element of the future of Mercedes, especially since the British driver will become the team leader following Hamilton’s departure. George was the first junior from Mercedes to join us. He is still our Mercedes driver, and I hope he will always be.
With Russell and Antonelli, Mercedes finds itself with a pair of young but already very fast drivers, capable of bringing the team back to the top. Even if Toto Wolff no longer wants to “flirt” with Verstappen, he does not completely rule out the possibility of changing his mind if the Dutchman decided to leave Red Bull one day. After all, a triple world champion remains an asset that few teams could afford to refuse.
