Toto Wolff ‘immediately clear’ Max Verstappen observation as Mercedes pursuit called off
Toto Wolff has called off his pursuit of Max Verstappen
Having spent the better part of seven months flirting with Max Verstappen, Toto Wolff admits it was “immediately clear” that the Dutchman would not leave Red Bull for Mercedes.
With Red Bull’s off-track saga involving team boss Christian Horner following hot on the heels of Lewis Hamilton’s announcement that he’d be joining Ferrari next season, Wolff very publicly made a play for Verstappen.
Toto Wolff: Interest in Max Verstappen, but Kimi Antonelli the best choice
Adamant there wasn’t a team on the grid that wouldn’t want to sign the triple World Champion, Wolff claimed there were “factors” other than having the fastest car that could determine Verstappen’s future.
Wolff even teased that he had held meetings with the three-time World Champion and his management team in hopes of signing Verstappen.
But, after months of chasing Verstappen, Wolff signed Mercedes’ junior Kimi Antonelli as George Russell’s 2025 team-mate.
After all, while he did want Verstappen, it was evident from the get-go that he would not be leaving Red Bull any time soon.
“Of course, we were interested in Verstappen, but it was immediately clear that in all likelihood he would not move to Mercedes,” the Mercedes motorsport boss admitted to Autosprint.
“Kimi was therefore the best choice for Mercedes. We want to start a new chapter with Mercedes. It is an exciting time, and we think we have found the right combination looking forward.
“With Lewis, an icon is leaving. As for next year’s Ferrari story, there will be huge noise there, it is a decision with extraordinary consequences.”
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Wolff has previously spoken about wanting Antonelli as Hamilton’s replacement almost from the very second the Briton informed him he would be off to Ferrari next season.
Although the team boss had hoped that maybe he could persuade Verstappen to swap Red Bull for Mercedes, he knew even back then that if that didn’t happen, it was Antonelli who he wanted in the W16.
“I made up my mind five minutes after Lewis Hamilton told me that he’s going to Ferrari,” Wolff said when the team confirmed the Italian.
“Obviously we were discussing other options and looking at the Max idea – we didn’t discount it completely with looking at what happened at Red Bull.
“But instinctively that is the line-up with these two [Russell and Antonelli] that I always wanted, bearing in mind the fast-tracking that we did with Kimi and everything related there too, but that was immediately what I wanted to do.”
Earlier this week Wolff told Motorsport.com that his days of “flirting” with Verstappen were over as he wants to show Antonelli and Russell that he has full confidence in them doing the job for Mercedes.
“We’re sitting back,” he said. “I think I’ve expressed it before, and we have a similar view also from Max’s side: you’ve got to put faith in your drivers or in your team.
“You need to give it the maximum support you can to make it a success. And only if things go really wrong, you will consider other opportunities.
“For me, it’s like flirting outside whilst you’re making your relationship work. It doesn’t work, I’m not flirting outside.
“Only if I want to have a change, or consider a change, I would seek a conversation. And it is the same on his side. We’re pretty aligned in our values on that I think.”
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