Toto Wolff, Mercedes Team Principal, has never hidden that he wants to sign Max Verstappen. And this year, taking advantage of the complicated situation the team has been in due to the ‘Horner case’ and the difficult relationship between the driver’s father, Jos Verstappen, and the team boss, Christian Horner, the Austrian, has increased his public statements regarding the Dutchman and his interest in the current champion.
Last week, when Max Verstappen said at the Red Bull Ring that he would stay with Red Bull in 2025, Wolff was quick to doubt it. “Did you really say that?” And in this way, a folder that seems to be closed is reopened.
Horner quickly responded and labeled Wolff’s words “tactics.” “Max is very clear. But of course, if he wants Verstappen for next year, then I guess Jos Verstappen (Max’s father) is available., answered the Red Bull Team Principal. Meanwhile, team adviser Helmut Marko said Wolff’s desire to sign Max was more “like an illusion.”
And a few days later, Wolff, in MD, left that door open again. “Leclerc is a Ferrari driver until 2028. And with Verstappen… you never really know. So we’re keeping our options open”he declared for this newspaper.
“I think Verstappen is likely to stay at Red Bull in 2025, as he said. But that doesn’t mean things can’t change.”he added, leaving things up in the air again.
Is the signing of Max Verstappen for Mercedes possible?
Both Helmut Marko and Wolff got something right. The way Red Bull can ensure Max’s presence in 2025, despite the fact that he has a contract, is by showing him that in 2025 it will continue to have a winning car. At the beginning of the year, it seemed that way. But today, McLaren caught up with Red Bull and Mercedes was close and managed to fight for victories with a very fast car in some of the last rounds.
Wolff knows that Max, at this moment, can only stay at Red Bull by the possibility of continuing to win titles next year. Knowing that you will have the best car to win. Therefore, it is not surprising that MD assured the Austrian that the priority now is to produce a winning car. That is the best or only possible hook.
“We are not waiting for a driver. I admit we have never done that. The main focus at the moment on our part is to have the fastest car. If we have a faster car, I think Lewis and George will be fighting at the front this year, as well as whoever is there next year, whether it’s Kimi Antonelli or Max Verstappen or whoever… that’s our duty and it is what is under our control”Toto Wolff argued with this newspaper.
And Helmut himself warned about this days ago: ““The starting position is the same, as long as Red Bull can give him a competitive car and he is comfortable, there is no reason to change teams.” The question becomes another: If Verstappen sees that Mercedes can give him a winning car in 2025, what will he do? Will he stay if Red Bull ends the year without the best car on the grid and Mercedes is at his level? Perhaps therein lies the key to Wolff’s aforementioned phrase that “that doesn’t mean things can’t change.”
For this reason, Wolff is clear that he wants to wait: “I don’t want to make a quick decision. I want to wait as long as possible to see the development of Kimi Antonelli and to see what happens in the driving market.”
Verstappen and his doubts
It is important to consider previous analysis to understand and read between the lines of Verstappen’s response from last week in Austria. He needed three questions, and the last one was very direct, to try to clarify his future.
First, they asked Max if he would continue with Red Bull and he went through the hills of Úbeda: “Naturally, people are always talking. The most important thing is to have a competitive car for the future. Right now the grid is compressed but we are working hard to improve more and the team is already committed for next year to be competitive. If you notice, Max points to the key already mentioned: it tells him that he wants the winning car.
They asked him again: “And if your car isn’t the fastest at the end of the season, can you leave?”
“F1 is not like that, where you can take it and say goodbye. I have a long-term contract with the team, I’m happy and we are already focusing on what we can implement in the car for next year (2025), so in I guess that should give you some clues as to where I’m going next year,” he added.
And finally, they asked him if he would continue: “Didn’t you understand that from my answer earlier? Yes! I already told you that we will build the car next year.and when you focus on this time of things it is because you will drive for them next year.
Considering this and that Max Verstappen has a contract with Red Bull until 2028, the Dutchman’s case should be a closed folder. But according to Wolff, “You really don’t know about Max…”. Maybe you know more and can’t tell. Or maybe, as Horner says, it’s simply a strategy to continue picking at the wounds of his biggest rival.
And Sainz? What should you do?
On the other side of all this is Carlos Sainz, who is looking for a seat for 2025. Logically, driving now for Ferrari, his desire is to continue fighting for victories in a Mercedes or a Red Bull, but the Those doors are not open right now. There has to be a movement like Max’s for this. Must wait. But if he fell asleep while waiting, it might be too late for Carlos.
The decision Sainz had to make was not an easy one. Williams, Alpine and Sauber (Audi in 2026) want him. And in turn, It is unclear whether there will be a free seat at Red Bull if Verstappen leaves or if ‘Checo’ Pérez does not improve his performance after the definitive renewal. And as the Mexican acknowledges, if contracts are worth little to any team, it’s at Red Bull because “here you have to earn everything that comes to you, you have to earn it on the track.”
And on the other hand, there is Mercedes. Toto Wolff made it clear to MD that he wants Carlos Sainz to wait longer and that “Carlos is still an opportunity.” And it was that If the star team fails to sign Verstappen, Wolff may have to decide between young Kimi Antonelli, who is not yet done breaking into F2 and may need more filming, or Carlos Sainz.
But For that to happen, Carlos will have to wait in uncertainty. A very risky bet, because if you wait too long and the Mercedes and Red Bull doors don’t open, something that seems complicated, it might be too late and you might be left without the seats that are waiting for you right now. Williams, Alpine or Audi (Sauber).
If Carlos wants to get a seat now, Williams is offering a mid-table car that has sunk in recent weeks. Alpine seems to have improved in that battle for points. And there is doubt as to whether Alpine will mount the machine Mercedes in 2026. Williams yes it will and it can be a very positive point because of the paddock Rumors suggest that this machine will be an airplane. The idea in both cases is to be able to continue to shine in the central zone to wait for market options in big teams to open again in the future with a contract that can allow that release.
And finally there is the option of Audi, which means racing at the back of the grid with Sauber in 2025 but leading a long-term project with the historic brand from 2026 (the first time Audi will enter F1), something Alunni Bravi, Sauber’s top representative in the paddock, pointed out in MD weeks ago that Sainz should see this as a great opportunity to become the main pillar of a historical matter.
“It’s an effort, we know, but it’s also an opportunity to create a winning team together and be an active part of that process as an important element. This is what we suggest to our drivers”the Italian told MD in reference to Carlos and the fact that in 2025 he must drive a non-competitive Sauber, far from podiums and perhaps points.
But Audi also generates a lot of uncertainty: no one in F1 can guarantee that this project will be a winner. or when Audi will achieve it for a lot of money and desire to position a brand as iconic and winning as the German. If this is history, Ferrari will win. And according to the project, Aston Martin too. But it’s not like that.
In F1 it takes years to win and create a champion team. Carlos knows this, and he wants to waste his best years of his career to continue fighting at the top.
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.
