That Max Verstappen was Toto Wolff’s desire (not even hidden for a moment) was clear from the beginning of the season, when the Mercedes team manager tried to convince the three-time world champion to leave Red Bull following the Horner affair that unleashed chaos in Milton Keynes, also generating collateral earthquakes that led the reigning world champion team to lose very important members of its organization such as Adrian Newey.
Wolff, who in January had to accept Lewis Hamilton’s departure starting in 2025, has been hunting for the best possible replacement, identifying him in Verstappen. Despite several failed attempts, Toto has tried to play his last card over the course of this summer.
Today the Mercedes team principal admitted that he had tried to sign Max in the past weeks too. That’s why the Brackley team has been so slow in announcing the name of the driver who will partner George Russell starting next season.
“All year I thought there was a window to get Max, that there was a possibility. I mean, that it was not impossible,” Wolff said.
“The terrain is still quite uneven, and not only for performance reasons, but also for interpersonal issues that we are all aware of. By the way, I have gotten along with Jos all my life. But maybe because we are a bit similar. That’s why I thought the door was never completely closed.”
“What were the odds of that happening? Maybe 10 to 1. 9 to 1. But I didn’t want to give up. Then in the summer we came to the conclusion together that we shouldn’t wait for something to happen before committing to 2025, but continue our work. So, Max at Red Bull and us here at Mercedes, making decisions about our drivers of the future. And that was a sort of joint reflection.”
Wolff, who had an excellent relationship with Max’s father, Jos, also tried to leverage the family – who had been in a prolonged quarrel with Christian Horner – to try to bring Max into the employ of the Three-Pointed Star, but in the end he had to give up.
“What I like about Max, Raymond and Jos is that we speak clearly. We don’t need to push each other. We’ve been in this situation for too long, we’ve made the decision on the drivers for next year and that’s what we need to put all our effort into.”
“We hope that this is the lineup for 2026 and beyond. But that doesn’t close the door on the possibility of Max coming to us, because we want to keep all options open, just like he does. So what I liked about our conversations is that there were never any secrets.”
“Somehow I have the feeling that the paths of Mercedes and Verstappen will cross. But I don’t know when it might happen. Whether it’s 2026, three years later… I don’t know yet.”
At this point, in the next few days, Mercedes will announce the name of the second driver who will have to join Russell starting next season. The main candidate and suspect to occupy the seat that is currently still in the hands of Lewis Hamilton is Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
“We will confirm the name of the second driver. And what I said is that the two drivers who will be on our cars will have our maximum support, 100%. So we will show up at the start of next season with two drivers who we will give every opportunity to perform at their best.”
“And that’s why I don’t want to talk about the driver lineup for 2026 at this stage, because I want it to work with George and, hypothetically, Antonelli,” Wolff concluded.
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