19/04/2025 18:30
Toto Wolff has indicated that he is not willing to "flirt" with Max
Verstappen as he appeared to close the door on a potential swoop
for the Red Bull driver. Wolff has spent time trying to court
Verstappen away from Red Bull, including as he searched for a
replacement for Lewis Hamilton, but eventually chose Kimi
Antonelli. The other Mercedes driver George Russell is currently
fourth in the standings heading into the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix,
after three podiums from the first four races, including second in
Bahrain, where he was battling multiple system failures on board
his W16. He held off Lando Norris for second place, and is
reportedly set for a contract extension with his current deal set
to expire at the end of this season. Russell is currently in
negotiations over a contract extension, with his current deal
expiring at the end of the season, but fresh terms would all but
end Mercedes' interest in luring Verstappen away from Red Bull.
When asked directly by Martin Brundle on Sky Sports F1 if he wanted
to sign Verstappen, Wolff indicated that "no conversations" had
taken place. "I don't flirt outside if I am happy in the
relationship, and I am super happy with the line-up we have," Wolff
said. "I couldn't wish for anything better, and with Max, we
haven't had a conversation, and we are continuing our trajectory.
"[George] is doing a top job, and I wouldn't say he was underrated
because he is such a stoic person, but people talked about Lewis or
talked about Max. "Now you can see he is delivering, and he is
performing in the car to the maximum, and he is doing really great.
"If you have a brake-by-wire failure, a brake pedal that goes long
and spongy, and changes all the time, [including] resetting the
steering wheel, that means there is so much cognitive power behind
and he is getting better and better and better."
