Toto Wolff prods F1 rival Red Bull with Max Verstappen Mercedes ‘family’ reminder
Toto Wolff teases Red Bull over Max Verstappen's new F1 deal.
Toto Wolff has cheekily teased Red Bull that Max Verstappen remains part of the Mercedes family despite his new Formula 1 contract extension.
On the eve of his home Dutch Grand Prix, Red Bull announced that Verstappen had committed his future to the team by signing a new deal running until the end of 2030.
It marks a two-year extension to the contract he was already under and should put an end to long-running speculation linking Verstappen with the likes of McLaren and Mercedes.
Mercedes publicly courted Verstappen throughout 2024 as the team looked for a replacement for Lewis Hamilton but eventually promoted Andrea Kimi Antonelli to partner George Russell.
After Verstappen confirmed he would be staying at Red Bull for 2026 last summer, Mercedes swiftly announced that both Russell and Antonelli would continue to drive for the foreseeable future.
That did not stop rumours linking Verstappen with a future switch to Mercedes, though that prospect appears to have finally been put to bed following last week’s news of the Dutchman’s contract extension.
However, Verstappen will likely race for Mercedes outside of F1, with the 28-year-old set to continue his sportscar exploits in GT3.
And Wolff was quick to point to that when discussing Verstappen’s big new Red Bull deal.
“We have the best of him, he's driving our Mercedes on the really important races,” Wolff told Viaplay.
“The Nordschleife and maybe there’s going to be a few more, so he’s staying in the family.”
Asked about his thoughts on the extension itself, Wolff replied: “Well, what can I say? I'm sure that Raymond [Vermeulen, Verstappen’s manager] has done a very good job, let's see.”
Verstappen said ahead of the Zandvoort weekend that he came closer to retiring from F1 than joining a rival team.
"I think I was closer to retiring than changing teams! But, no, all good,” he responded when asked if there had been the chance to join a rival.
When pressed on whether there he had received any other offers, Verstappen bluntly replied: "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter, does it? Well, not to me.”
Verstappen lines up seventh at today’s Dutch Grand Prix, which starts at 2pm UK time.
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