Toto Wolff has responded in more detail to Max Verstappen’s contract extension with Red Bull. The Mercedes team boss has previously made no secret of his desire to work with the Dutchman, but with that dream, Formula 1 is temporarily put on hold with Verstappen’s extended contract at Red Bull. “Now we wait to see what happens in two or three years,” Wolff seems to keep the door slightly open.
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Max Verstappen’s contract extension has been the topic of conversation in the paddock since Thursday before the Dutch GP – when the news was announced by Red Bull. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has previously had talks with the four-time world champion about a future collaboration. The Mercedes team boss now responds extensively to the fact that Verstappen is staying with the Austrian team.
“It actually seemed logical to me that Max would stay at Red Bull,” Wolff tells the Dutch media at Zandvoort. Yet he does not seem to have completely given up hope of eventually bringing the Dutchman to Mercedes in Formula 1. “Now we wait to see what happens in two or three years. When contracts expire again and who performs best then.”
‘Those are the real hero races’
Although the Austrian launched a charm offensive towards Verstappen last year, ‘the situation a year later is very different.’ “Quite early on, we felt it was the right decision for us to continue with George and Kimi,” he explains. “A very different situation than last year. Back then, both parties were exploring whether collaboration would be possible or not.”
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Still, the Dutch world champion remains part of the Mercedes family, in Wolff’s words. This is thanks to his ongoing collaboration with the Silver Arrows in GT racing. “In these races (in F1, ed.) we have huge runoff areas. The real racing is when you race against 150 other cars,” Wolff refers to GT racing. “Those are really the hero races.”
The team boss also talks about the meeting between Wolff and Verstappen in Sardinia last summer. “We were just swimming. I think over the past years we have found a good way to have a relationship where we don’t discuss some things – especially those of a competitive nature. Raymond (Vermeulen, Verstappen’s manager, ed.), Jos (Verstappen, ed.) and Max simply have the same way of thinking and philosophy as Susie (Wolff, ed.) and I have. We have good conversations. However, these are not about what he should do or what I should do.”
The team boss was therefore not surprised by Verstappen’s decision to stay in F1. “The longer the regulations remain in force, the more the usual top teams – McLaren, Ferrari, ourselves, and also Red Bull – will fight again for titles and wins.”
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