by VALERIO BARRETTA
Verstappen, Wolff keeps trying
As long as he has a 0.1% chance, Toto Wolff will try every day to tear Max away Verstappen at Red Bull. The Austrian knows that the world champion is the added value of a car that is no longer as dominant as in other years, and he is willing to do anything to take the champion away from his rivals.
Wolff’s words
In the press conference at the Red Bull Ring, Verstappen underlined his intention to remain at Red Bull in 2025. However, even this promise did not convince Wolff: “He couldn’t say anything else, right? They really had to push to get that answer.“, the Austrian told the Germans Motorsport-Total.com. “Would I bet my life on Max in Red Bull in 2025? I would only bet my life on Max driving in Formula 1 next year?“.
The fight with Horner
So far, the Mercedes team principal has capitalized on the friction between Max’s father – Jos – and his colleague Chris Horner, emphasizing in every interview that the game for 2025 is open. A continuous attempt to unnerve Horner himself (who in recent weeks has responded in kind), all while the Verstappen family is gloating: this fight for his performance, in addition to engaging the British driver, underlines the centrality of the driver in victories. A centrality that in the paddock is considered even more important than the RB20, judged at least on par (if not inferior) to the McLaren.
The importance of the machine
In each statement, Wolff has however stressed that the essential condition for bringing Verstappen to Mercedes is to provide a car adequate to the value of the world champion, who would not move for a losing project. A hypothesis that clashes with the current balance of power and the near future of Formula 1, which will experience a regulatory change in 2026. And at the moment no one can know if Mercedes can have a car superior to Red Bull. Not even Wolff.
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