Team principal Toto Wolff does not try to hide his desire for Max Verstappen (26 years old) – the big star of the Red Bull team – to replace Lewis Hamilton (39 years old) at Mercedes.
The short version
- Team boss Toto Wolff wants Max Verstappen to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in 2025.
- Hamilton leaves Mercedes for Ferrari after the season.
- Rumors and conflicts at Red Bull are fueling speculation that Verstappen may leave them.
- Mercedes is also considering alternative candidates such as Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
With Hamilton disappearing to Ferrari after the season, Mercedes has a vacant wheel.
At the same time, there have been rumors in recent weeks about the possibility of world champion Verstappen leaving Red Bull, among other things as a result of… Horner case.
His father José Verstappen has stated that the entire Red Bull team could disband if its coach Christian Horner stays. He also accused Horner of being a troublemaker.
Now Toto Wolff has spoken to Fox Sports Australia. There he explains how he saw the Dutchman's potential in Formula 3 in 2014 and was in negotiations with his father José Verstappen – but they had already received an offer from the Red Bull system – which he was unable to compete with.
Wolff also makes no secret of the fact that Verstappen is his first choice – should Verstappen choose to leave Red Bull.
When asked if it would be possible to close the circuit between Verstappen and Mercedes after ten years, Wolff replied:
– Absolutely. So I think this is something that has to happen at some point, but we don't know when.
The Mercedes boss cannot rule out other candidates such as Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz and Formula 2 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli, he wrote. motorsport.com.
Toto Wolff believes that the relationship between him and the Verstappen family is the best. Amid the chaos surrounding Red Bull and Christian Horner, speculation has emerged that Max Verstappen could leave the team.
-I think we've always respected each other, and Gus and I also have the same kind of humor. I think the most important thing is that we both don't like bullshit, as Wolff says about Abi Verstappen.
– Gus knows more about racing than me, and what about Max! Maybe I know more about managing an organization. It's unfortunate that there were those moments of rivalry, but perhaps they would also have behaved that way if they were in my place, and I will always defend my own driver, says the deep rivalry between Mercedes driver Hamilton and Red Bull driver Verstappen in 2021.
-If you look at Max in the last two years, you won't find anyone close to him. As a driver, you also can't manage without a good car, engine and team around you. Max is in that position now, admits Toto Wolff, who has had a difficult start to the 2024 season as Mercedes boss. Last weekend, no car reached the finish line in Australia.
On the other hand, Verstappen started the season with two victories, before his brakes failed early in the race in Australia.
In a week and a half, there will be a Formula 1 race in Japan.
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