The real reason Max Verstappen gave Toto Wolff for Mercedes snub

Toto Wolff has said that Max Verstappen showed “integrity” in staying with Red Bull next season, believing “he owes them” after a difficult season by his standards.

The Mercedes team principal has been public in the past in discussing Verstappen as a potential future Mercedes driver, though the Dutch racer confirmed he will remain with Red Bull for at least the next year – with his contract running until the end of 2028.

Wolff: Max Verstappen said he ‘owes’ Red Bull

Wolff has since confirmed the team is ironing out final details of deals to keep both George Russell and Kimi Antonelli beyond this season, but the subject of Verstappen’s future had been a regular topic of conversation before he put an end to speculation prior to the summer break.

The Mercedes team principal heaped praise on his current line-up, believing Russell to be “outperforming the car” this season, while teenage rookie Antonelli remains Mercedes’ “long-term bet” behind the wheel.

Addressing Verstappen’s decision to remain a Red Bull driver, Wolff acknowledged the future is unknown, but in the present day, praised the four-time World Champion’s loyalty to his current employer.

“Max will have his reasons why he’s staying at Red Bull,” Wolff said in an interview with Dutch media.

“What he said is he owes them, and it’s not the first moment you can walk away when the team doesn’t perform, beyond the contract.

“So I think things have fallen in place like they are today, and who knows what happens in the future, but the integrity that he has shown to his team, and the integrity that I and the team have shown to our drivers, I think that’s important.”

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It is well-known that Verstappen was wanted by Mercedes as a junior driver when he was searching for a way into Formula 1, but it was Red Bull that ultimately triumphed in securing his signature back in 2014.

Wolff revealed it was Red Bull’s ability to put him straight into Formula 1 which sealed the deal on the part of Verstappen and his father, Jos.

There was no lack of trying on Mercedes’ part to sign him, but the team had a high-quality partnership which was dominating Formula 1 at the time, meaning a seat was not available for at least another season.

“I’ve known Jos and Max for a long time,” Wolff said.

“The relationship with Jos was always amicable. Same generation, same s*** upbringing, so we always had that.

“I met Jos and Max in 2016 [2014]… talking about joining Mercedes, and that is what they wanted, but we didn’t have a seat because we had Nico [Rosberg] and we had Lewis [Hamilton].

“So what I offered was a free seat in Formula 2 and a guarantee for Formula 1 the following year, and if we weren’t able to do Formula 1, then he was free to go.

“Then Helmut [Marko] chipped in and obviously gave them the seat.”

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