Wolff: Mercedes would ‘love’ Verstappen but improving 2024 F1 car the priority

Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff admits he would “love” to sign Max Verstappen but admits it “needs to sort out our car” after a poor Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton will end his long Mercedes association at the end of this term to pursue a move to Ferrari, leaving a seat vacant alongside George Russell for 2025.

The fallout that has emanated from the concluded investigation into Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner has seen Verstappen emerge as a shock candidate.

Max’s father, Jos, was seen in conversation with Wolff in Bahrain and declared that Horner’s continued presence could threaten to “tear apart” the Red Bull team.

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Despite affirming his intention to complete his existing Red Bull F1 contract through 2028, Verstappen suggested that was dependent on Helmut Marko remaining.

Wolff has clarified that he would welcome Verstappen to replace Hamilton but asserted that his sole focus is on delivering a stronger car for Mercedes’ current duo.

“I’d love to have him, but first we need to sort out our car,” Wolff said regarding rumours of Verstappen to Mercedes.

“First, we owe it to George and Lewis to improve the car and give them equipment that is good before dreaming about the future next year.”

Mercedes had been optimistic that its revamped 2024 car would perform stronger in Jeddah after its potential was limited by engine cooling concerns in Bahrain.

However, the marque locked out the fourth row of the grid, with Russell finishing sixth, 39.9s behind Verstappen, while Hamilton laboured to a disappointing ninth.

“I’d love to have him [Verstappen], but first, we owe it to George and Lewis to improve the car and give them equipment that is good before dreaming about the future next year,” he said.

Meanwhile, with Red Bull continuing to dominate under the latest ground effect regulations, Wolff concedes it would be unrealistic to expect Verstappen to move.

“Like I said, a driver will always try to be in the fastest possible car,” he said. “That gives you the best chances of winning races and championships and this is where Max is at the moment.

“But Max is also … Jos and Max and Raymond [Vermeulen, Verstappen’s manager] are also people who are very straight, sometimes uncomfortably straight, and I think that’s something they will make up their mind [on]. But I think fundamentally a racing driver is calibrated to be in the best car.”

Pressed on whether Verstappen was on Mercedes’ list, Wolff answered that “there is no team up and down the grid that wouldn’t do handstands to have him in the car.”

Regarding when a decision on its 2025 line-up will be forthcoming, Wolff asserted that Mercedes is still assessing the driver market and the options available to the team.

“I think we are going to wait. We are going to wait,” he repeated.

“We have a few interesting options and the more we are able to assess how the season pans out, young drivers with us against slightly older ones, that’s not going to be a decision that we want to take in the next few weeks, it will be in a few months depending on where it goes.”

Wolff insisted that Mercedes was not becoming distracted by the tension that’s arisen at Red Bull, arguing it can’t depend on outside factors to close the gap.

“At the moment it doesn’t look like they are pushing that button, because they finished first and second and disappeared into the distance, but these things can have a lag,” he said.

“I think we need to concentrate on ourselves: what is it we need to do to give our drivers the best possible car.

“It’s not our drivers that are the problem, it’s our machine that doesn’t perform like we believe it should.”