Toto Wolff claims he ‘never planned’ to sign Max Verstappen at Mercedes for 2025
"There was never a plan. We always talked and kept the line of communication open."
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff claimed he had never planned to sign Max Verstappen despite his public flirting with the four-time F1 world champion.
Wolff courted Verstappen throughout 2024 as he looked for a possible Lewis Hamilton replacement.
Verstappen’s Red Bull future wasn’t entirely clear, given their off-track turmoil and then subsequent dip in performance.
The Dutchman is contracted at Red Bull until the end of 2028 and has remained committed despite their difficulties on and off track.
Wolff ultimately opted for Andrea Kimi Antonelli to partner with George Russell for 2025.
Speaking to German publication AMuS, Wolff said: “There was never a plan. We always talked and kept the line of communication open.
“At some point he said that he wanted to stay where he was for the time being because it felt right for him.
“And I said that we would go with Kimi because it also felt right for us. And now we’ll see where it takes us.”
Could Verstappen leave Red Bull in the future?
Despite the speculation surrounding Verstappen’s future, he remained coy on leaving the team.
Verstappen sees Red Bull as his “second family” and wants to remain loyal to the organisation that gave him his F1 debut in 2015 with Toro Rosso, their sister team.
Speaking to Viaplay, Verstappen addressed the Mercedes rumours.
“With [Mercedes], of course, there was also a lot at play and they had to make a choice for a new driver. I have achieved a lot of success with [Red Bull] and it just feels like a second family.
“You can’t make the consideration to leave very quickly. It’s not like, I wake up and I say, ‘yeah, next year it’s done.’
“I am not someone who shoots from left to right very quickly anyway. So you really have to think about that kind of thing very carefully, too, if you want to do that.”
Should Verstappen wish to leave Red Bull, he will have several suitors.
Outside of Mercedes, Aston Martin, following the signing of Adrian Newey and teaming up with Honda, could make them an attractive option to Verstappen.
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