Toto Wolff is facing arguably the biggest challenge of his career as the Mercedes team principal – filling the shoes of a seven-time champion. Signing another multiple world champion seemed like a great choice for replacing Lewis Hamilton. Especially Max Verstappen, whom Wolff missed out on signing up for the Silver Arrows a decade ago. Despite a few failed reported attempts in 2024, the Mercedes boss is still trying to poach the Dutchman.
Wolff has made no secret of his interest in Verstappen as Hamilton’s replacement. The 52-year-old was even ready to onboard Red Bull advisor, Helmut Marko, who has close contractual and personal ties with the three-time champion. Amid the internal turmoil at Red Bull, Wolff was being opportunistic to try and secure Verstappen.
However, with the 26-year-old pledging his loyalty toward the Milton Keynes outfit till the end of his current contract in 2028, the Austrian boss’ dream has slowly taken a back seat. Currently, Verstappen is realistically out of the picture for a shock move to Mercedes.
But, it looks like Wolff is not done trying to poach Verstappen. During his conversation on ‘Nailing the Apex’ podcast, host Tim Hauraney recalled a recent chat with Wolff.
“I was trying to talk to him about Antonelli, and then he took it down the Max Verstappen route of like, ‘Yeah, I just missed out on Max Verstappen, right?’ Like he was, and this isn’t the first time he said it. He has said it before in the press, but it just goes to show you he’s still iterating it, meaning that he still wants to try and get him.”, he said.
Tim Hauraney, Nailing the Apex podcast: I was talking with Toto Wolf saying, “You’re really good with driver talent and spotting it.” I was trying to talk to him about Antonelli. He took it down the Max route, “Yeah, I just missed out on on Max, right?” I don’t think he has stopped trying to get Max
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Currently, Mercedes academy prodigy, Kimi Antonelli is the frontrunner to take Hamilton’s seat for the 2025 season. But could there really be a way for Wolff to sign Verstappen?
Former F1 driver shares the secret to signing Max Verstappen
10-time Grand Prix winner Gerhard Berger recently said in an interview that he believes signing Adrian Newey, the highly regarded technical officer at Red Bull, could be the key to attracting Verstappen to Mercedes.
Newey is set to leave Red Bull by the end of the first quarter of 2025. His departure will mark a significant moment in the team’s history, which has tasted so much of its success because of Newey’s genius. As of now, it remains unclear where the British aero genius will go after he leaves Red Bull.
Gerhard Berger believes that Max Verstappen is unlikely to move to Mercedes anytime soon, even though his driving prowess may not be enough to tip the scales. However, if Red Bull were to weaken in the future, Verstappen might reconsider his options.
Toto Wolff’s charm… pic.twitter.com/208vaBZ0Vx
— This is Formula 1 (@ThisIsFormu1a1) June 12, 2024
Berger believes that if Toto Wolff could lure Newey to their team, Verstappen might follow suit.“If [Newey] opted for Mercedes, Verstappen would be there in no time at all. Newey is an absolute genius – where he is, there is success,” he told Bild.
So, Wolff will have to play an intricate and indirect game of securing Newey to have Verstappen at Mercedes. While these seem like complex and unattainable signings, the Mercedes boss has the acumen to pull it off, if they really want it.
