7w37 Sports：Mercedes and Verstappen 'keep open communication' over future move – Wolff

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff states he maintains an “open communication channel” with Max Verstappen about a potential future with the team.

Wolff has given up on the idea of signing the Red Bull driver for next season, and Mercedes is expected to announce soon that Italian Andrea Kimi Antonelli will race alongside George Russell next year.

However, in an exclusive interview with BBC Sport, Wolff revealed that discussions took place this year with Verstappen and his management regarding a possible move for the upcoming season.

He acknowledges that it was a “long shot,” but he approached the conversation because “there was not a zero possibility” following recent disruptions at Red Bull—stemming from allegations of sexual misconduct and controlling behavior made against team principal Christian Horner by a former employee.

“Red Bull was the dominant car at the start of the season,” Wolff explains. “That changed a bit. It’s Max Verstappen dominating at the moment.”

“And the relationships were dysfunctional. I’m not sure they are back in a great place, but it is what it is. There was an opportunity to at least have conversations about what the future could hold, and that is what we did.”

These discussions occurred despite Verstappen being under contract with Red Bull until the end of 2028.

Verstappen’s father, Jos, who plays a significant role in the driver’s management team, remains in conflict with Horner, who has been exonerated by two internal Red Bull investigations regarding the complaint.

At the Dutch Grand Prix last weekend, Max Verstappen expressed that he “gets along very well with Toto—he’s very open about what’s happening within his team.” The three-time world champion added that there was “nothing wrong” with Wolff publicly discussing his interest in him.

When asked if Verstappen could join Mercedes for 2026, Wolff replied, “It’s much too early. For the benefit of our drivers next year, I don’t want to entertain any conversations about 2026 or beyond, because we truly hope that the 2025 lineup will be the same going forward.”

Additionally, when asked about revisiting their discussions, he remarked, “We haven’t set any timeframes. It’s more about keeping the communication channel open, knowing that his priority is to make things work with Red Bull and our priority is our two drivers.”

Antonelli Set for Promotion

With the understanding that Verstappen will not join Mercedes next year, Wolff has shifted to plan B for finding a suitable partner for Russell after Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari.

Antonelli—who recently turned 18 and is in his first season in Formula 2, where he has already won two races—has been a Mercedes junior driver since he was 11. He has been participating in an extensive testing program this year in cars from previous seasons to prepare for F1. This preparation will continue this Friday when he makes his race weekend debut in first practice at the Italian Grand Prix.

Wolff refrained from confirming Antonelli’s seat for 2025 in the interview, but it is clear that is the intended direction.

When asked why he wouldn’t wait to give Antonelli more time in F2 or set him up with a less prominent F1 team, as he did with Russell for three years at Williams, Wolff stated: “Without jumping ahead too much on next year’s drivers, it’s simply not right to park such talent or place them with another team.”

“With George, it was probably a year too long at Williams, but we didn’t have any alternatives at the time either.”

“Let’s see what happens, but I feel we’ve made the right decision for the benefit of Lewis, the team’s interests, and Kimi. It feels right.”

Image source, Getty Images

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Andrea Kimi Antonelli only turned 18 on August 25th.

Antonelli is considered one of the hottest talents outside of F1, having been fast-tracked into F2 this season, bypassing Formula 3. Will he be adequately prepared if he is selected?

“You only find out if someone is ready for F1 when you throw them into the deep end,” Wolff notes. “I think Kimi is prepared. We are doing everything possible to provide him with testing days.”

“We’re not physically in the car with him. He needs to prove himself. He possesses the talent, intelligence, and ability to be successful. We just need to create an environment where he can learn and grow.”

“Young drivers need time. George is a formidable driver, one of the best. You can’t expect an 18-year-old to outperform him immediately. That’s unrealistic.”

“And that’s why we need to ensure the press—especially in Italy—doesn’t put too much pressure on him.”

Saying Goodbye to Hamilton

Wolff’s belief in Antonelli initiated the process that led to Hamilton’s move to Ferrari.

Recognizing that Antonelli was close to being prepared for F1, Wolff initially proposed a one-year deal to Hamilton during their contract negotiations last summer.

Ultimately, they settled on a “one plus one” arrangement—an official contract for 2024 with an option for Hamilton to leave in 2025 if he wished.

After discussions with Ferrari over the winter, Hamilton opted to move—securing a longer contract and a significant salary increase. Does Wolff have any regrets about the decisions that resulted in Hamilton’s departure?

“No,” he responds. “We made that decision as a team, and we were always transparent with Lewis. The good thing about him is he can put himself in our shoes and understands our perspective.”

“So, in that sense, there are no bad feelings, and there’s no sense of betrayal.”

“It was also beneficial for him to make a change. It marked the longest tenure between a driver and a team—12 years. Perhaps he needed to reinvent himself in a way.”

“Driving for Ferrari is incredibly prestigious. Maybe it’s also vital for us as a team to have our space and explore a new direction.”

Moving On from Abu Dhabi 2021

The decision to part ways means that Mercedes and Hamilton will not be able to seek vengeance for what they perceive as the injustice of Abu Dhabi 2021.

In that championship’s final race, following a bitter year-long rivalry between Hamilton and Verstappen, race director Michael Masi failed to correctly apply the rules during a late safety car period.

Under pressure from Red Bull—along with a desire for the race not to conclude under a safety car—Masi made a series of decisions that bypassed the rules, allowing Verstappen to overtake Hamilton on the race’s final lap and win the title, even though Hamilton was on track to become champion prior to the safety car.

Wolff and Hamilton were bitter about this for an extended period, and Hamilton still has strong motivation to win an eighth world title that he believes he rightfully should already possess.

How does Wolff feel about the fact that their narrative will conclude without the opportunity to secure that eighth title together?

“You have to look at it more objectively than we do,” he says. “He is the greatest F1 driver of all time. He has set all the records; the only one he shares is the number of championships with Michael Schumacher, another great—if not, alongside Lewis, the greatest driver ever. It is what it is, and we can’t change that.”

“Would I have preferred if things went differently? Absolutely. Do I believe what occurred in 2021 was remotely fair? No, it was not. However, we can’t turn back the clock; there are worse things than losing a race or a championship. There is more drama happening in the world.”

On Mercedes’ Return to Winning

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Mercedes has stood atop the podium three times this season.

After two challenging seasons, Mercedes has finally returned to the winner’s circle. Russell claimed one victory—an opportunity that arose after Verstappen collided with Lando Norris’ McLaren while vying for the lead in Austria—while Hamilton secured victories in both Britain and Belgium.

How did they manage to achieve this turnaround?

Wolff explains: “We never lost faith that we would eventually discover how to extract more performance from these unique ground-effect cars.”

This year started, if anything, in a worse state than 2023 ended. Mercedes finally altered their car philosophy but were still uncompetitive. The breakthrough came in late spring when they recognized they had not been utilizing the car correctly.

“We made those changes and saw promising signs of performance,” he adds. “Then all further development in the factory was directed toward that, and this is the result we’re now seeing on the track.”

But why did it take so long?

“That’s a good question. It’s the most challenging sport because it involves the interaction between man and machine, and the development aspect is pure science,” Wolff states.

“After winning eight world titles, we may have needed to reevaluate our approach to extrapolating and correlating data, especially with formidable competition surrounding us.”

“We knew it wouldn’t be easy, and clearly, no sports team in the world has won every championship they’ve competed in, and while the results fell short of expectations, we still finished third and second in the championship.”

Toward the end of Mercedes’ championship success, Wolff had contemplated stepping back from his role as team principal.

Ultimately, he decided against it, stating he intends to remain involved for the foreseeable future.

“I want to wake up feeling enthusiastic about what I’m doing and about going to the races, which has returned,” he affirms.

“That feeling was absent in 2020, interestingly, the year we were most dominant. But now I enjoy it and see myself in this role for a while longer.”

“Looking ahead, in a few years, after hopefully more success, I’d like to provide commentary from the sidelines and critique from the outside, perhaps doing 15 races instead of 24. But that is still quite some time away.”

What impact do you think the shift in driver dynamics will have on Mercedes’ future success?