24/07/2025 08:30
Toto Wolff has given his strongest indication yet that he believes
Max Verstappen will not be signing for Mercedes for the 2026 F1
season. Mercedes' public courting of Verstappen has been ongoing
for some time, with both current drivers George Russell and Kimi
Antonelli out of contract at the end of this season. Russell has
been confident of landing an extension, with Wolff also keen to
publicly support Antonelli in his rookie season, but given events
at Red Bull including the sacking of Christian Horner, the
possibility of a Verstappen exit for 2026 had grown. Verstappen
himself has so far refused to 100% confirm he will be with the team
next year as F1 embarks on a huge package of chassis and engine
changes, meaning 2027 would be a more realistic chance of him
leaving the Miilton Keynes squad. That is a realisation Wolff has
also hinted at, as he backed Russell and Antonelli. "It's not just
about the team making a decision," Wolff told ORF. "The drivers
also need to know where they are, we have always tried to stick to
this rule, and we will do that this time. "The direction of travel
is that we want to continue with George and Kimi. That is the first
priority, they are all up to date." During the recent two week
break between the British and Belgian GPs, fans on social media
noticed that both Wolff and Verstappen were on holiday in Sardinia,
and even photo-shopped images purpoting to show Wolff boarding
Verstappen's private plane. The Mercedes boss laughed off the
incident. "It is new that people make photo collages of a plane.,"
he said. "We've never had that before. If you go on vacation close
to each other, that doesn't mean you're also working together in
Formula 1. We've always had a good relationship, and
coincidentally, we also spend the holidays in similar areas."
