Toto Wolff swerves question about signing Max Verstappen after row

Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff has sidestepped giving a clear answer about whether he would still like to sign Max Verstappen following his row with George Russell.
 

Russell and Verstappen engaged in an extraordinary war of words on the eve of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix following an incident in qualifying in Qatar which resulted in the Red Bull driver being penalised.

 

Verstappen said after the Qatar Grand Prix that he had “lost all respect” for Russell over the role he played in the four-time world champion’s penalty.

 

But Russell fiercely hit back during a remarkable media day in Abu Dhabi, claiming that Verstappen had threatened to purposely crash into him and “put my f*****g head in the wall”.

 

Verstappen branded Russell a liar but the feud appears to have simmered down after early hints at reconciliation between the pair.

 

Wolff unusually appeared at Russell’s side for his news conference on Thursday in a clear show of support for his driver.

 

The off-track drama raised question over whether Mercedes would still want to sign Verstappen in the future after publicly courting him earlier this season.

 

Wolff somewhat dodged providing a direct response when asked by Crash.net if he had been put off signing Verstappen over his conduct.

 

“George put the line in the sand,” Wolff said.

 

“There is a relationship between two drivers that needs to stay between the two of them and for them to manage. As a team principle I don’t think I should get involved.”

Verstappen had been heavily linked with Mercedes as a possible replacement for seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, before the Silver Arrows ultimately opted to promote their teenage prodigy Andrea Kimi Antonelli into a 2025 seat.

Hamilton fought back from 16th to finish fourth ahead of teammate Russell on his farewell outing for Mercedes before he completes a blockbuster switch to Ferrari.

“It has been 12-years,” Wolff said when asked by Crash.net to sum up his emotions following Hamilton’s last race for Mercedes.

“The longest driver-team relationship this sport has ever seen. It’s one of the longest relationships that any sport has seen. I would be interested to see the data on that.

“One of the longest relationships personally and that creates attachment, trust and those values in this day and age are rare and thats why we hold him close to our hearts.”

Wolff stressed he wants to maintain his relationship with Hamilton despite his departure.

“We said we’re going to work hard at maintaining the relationship,” he added. “Fierce competition on the track but if the individuals want the relationship to continue beyond competition we will do so.

“We still play our sports sessions, where we are both so competitive, try to beat each other, ride a bike [motorbike].”