For a long time, Toto Wolff tried his best to woo Max Verstappen away from Red Bull and sign him to replace Lewis Hamilton. However, the 52-year-old failed in his quest to do the same. With Kimi Antonelli now confirmed as a 2025 Mercedes driver, the Austrian does not want to talk about Verstappen’s chances for 2026 for the sake of his current lineup.
Speaking on BBC’s F1: Chequered Flag Podcast, Wolff talked about what was motivating him to make an opportunistic attempt at poaching the Dutchman from Red Bull. With a lot of internal turmoil at Milton Keynes at the start of the season, the Austrian boss thought it could be a great chance to fulfill his dream of having Verstappen at Mercedes.
While he had Antonelli as a prime candidate, Verstappen and Red Bull’s uncertain situation was keeping Wolff from confirming the Italian. However, it seems that Wolff has finally decided to let go of that urge and trust Antonelli and George Russell. Now, if he has to sign Verstappen, either of these two will have to bite the bullet in 2026 or beyond. Thus, Wolff said,
“For the benefit of our drivers next year, I don’t wanna have any conversations about 2026 or beyond.”
With Antonelli announced as a Mercedes driver, the Silver Arrows have become the latest outfit to finalize their 2025 lineup. Moreover, the lineup of Antonelli and Russell seems a long-term one unless something drastic happens. So, Wolff would want to build on this young pairing’s talent for 2026 rather than disrupting it again.
However, it doesn’t rule out a Verstappen to Mercedes move, as unlikely things have happened in the F1 driver market with Hamilton’s move to Ferrari itself being one of those moves.
Verstappen could still be a Mercedes driver
With Red Bull performing much better than Mercedes in recent years, Verstappen remained in favor of driving for the Austrian team. However, with increasing issues with Red Bull, experts opine he may soon step away from the team. Meanwhile, the Silver Arrows have been on a resurgent run, showcasing that it can still win races on merit.
Thus, if the three-time champion knocks on Mercedes’ doors amid Red Bull’s downfall, it could result in trouble for Russell. The Briton will be in his last year of contract with Mercedes next season, and he could face the axe as Wolff seems quite set on retaining Antonelli for the long term.
At 18, the Italian prodigy stands as the future of the Mercedes team, and they would want him to learn the ropes under a world champion. Thus, Russell would be in a similar situation to Carlos Sainz — under added pressure to save his seat in 2025 and potentially get the pink slip for an incoming world champion.
