Ever since Lewis Hamilton announced his decision that he would move to Ferrari in 2025, Toto Wolff has made efforts to poach Max Verstappen as the Briton’s replacement. Despite having failed to sign the Dutchman so far, Wolff is yet hopeful.
His attempts at convincing Verstappen to join Mercedes fell short because of the team’s state at the time and the car’s ongoing troubles. However, with Mercedes seemingly performing better than Red Bull at the moment, Wolff senses he still has a chance of convincing the 26-year-old to join his side. As quoted by Motorsport, Wolff said,
“All year I thought there was a window to get Max. What were the odds of that happening? Maybe 10 to 1. 9 to 1. But I didn’t want to give up. Then in the summer we came to the conclusion together that we shouldn’t wait for something to happen before committing to 2025, but continue our work. So, Max at Red Bull and us here at Mercedes, making decisions about our drivers of the future. And that was a sort of joint reflection.”
Wolff: “So, Max at Red Bull and us here at Mercedes, making decisions about our drivers of the future. And that was a sort of joint reflection.”
5/5
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) August 23, 2024
In his extended statement, he also revealed that despite the general perception, he and Jos Verstappen get along very well. They’re completely over their 2021 quarrel and can surely work together in the future. However, for the immediate future, the focus seems to be on Kimi Antonelli and Wolff accidentally also announced his singing.
Wolff slips up while discussing Verstappen and announces Kimi Antonelli
After it was evident the Dutchman wouldn’t be switching teams in 2025, the Brackley outfit only had one driver in mind. Antonelli impressed the Mercedes bosses enough to gain their confidence.
Aided by the private tests in Italy, everyone in F1 has been anticipating the 17-year-old’s announcement. However, before an official word, Wolff accidentally slipped up and revealed Antonelli would be George Russell’s teammate in 2025.
Voorlopig dus niet, maar Mercedes-teambaas Toto Wolff heeft naar eigen zeggen ‘het gevoel’ dat wegen van hem en Max Verstappen ooit zullen kruisen.
Wolff ‘versprak’ zich net en bevestigde dat Kimi Antonelli nieuwe teamgenoot George Russell wordt.⬇️https://t.co/kprIKRJYtB
— Erik van Haren (@ErikvHaren) August 23, 2024
This was highlighted by Dutch journalist Erik van Haren on X. In the conversation, Wolff admitted, “The two drivers in our car next year have our full support. I want to make it work with George [Russell] and Kimi [Antonelli].” As per this admission, Mercedes will have a teenage driver on their side for the first time in their history as a works outfit.
