The jump of Lewis Hamilton in Ferrari In 2025, he freed up a much-coveted steering wheel for the next F1 season. The team leader Mercedes, Toto Wolffhas openly stated that his favorite for the position is Max Verstappenbut, aware of the difficulties in signing the star of red bull and current world champion, the Spaniards have also been mentioned Fernando Alonso (42 years old) and Carlos Sainz (29) as possible substitutes for Hamilton (39).
Verstappen (26) has a contract with Red Bull until 2028, but his future with the team has been clouded in recent weeks by the frosty relationship between his father, Jos Verstappenand the team leader, Christian Horner.
“We have a free place, only one of the best teams, unless Max decides to go and then the place is no longer free,” admitted Wolff in Fox Sports Australia In an interview conducted on Melbournewhere Carlos Sainz won Sunday’s race at the circuit of Albert Park.
When asked if Verstappen would be the number 1 choice, Wolff replied bluntly: “Yes. You can see his performance levels, but I don’t want to exclude others either.”
The head of Mercedes mentioned two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, current driver of Aston Martinto Carlos Sainz Kimi Antonelli, F2 driver promoted by Mercedes. “Obviously there is Fernando, who is exciting, and Carlos, who is very good. There are several options,” said Wolff.
Toto tried to sign Verstappen as a teenager but was unable to immediately offer him an F1 driver and the Dutch driver joined Red Bull.
The Austrian leader explained that he had a good relationship with Jos Verstappen and then met him in Vienna to discuss future possibilities, but Max already had an offer from Red Bull at the time and accepted it.
“It’s the kind of relationship that has to happen at a certain time, but we don’t know when,” Wolff said when asked if signing Verstappen would close a circle.
Verstappen did not rule out a long-term move to Mercedes, but in Australia he said he was comfortable with his “second family”, Red Bull, and it would be a good story to end his F1 career with the same team.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
