Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has not denied that he is engaged in renewed discussions with Max Verstappen about a potential move to the team in Formula 1 for 2026.
George Russell triggered headlines in the build-up to this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix when he suggested that Mercedes is involved in active talks with Verstappen.
Wolff has long harboured an interest in Verstappen and settled on partnering rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli with Russell when he missed out on the Dutchman in 2024.
Verstappen being contracted to Red Bull until 2028 has done little to silence the rumours linking him with a departure, though, with his deal comprising break clauses.
With Russell reported to have been in contact with Red Bull in recent months, Wolff explained that it was natural that both parties have “explored” alternative avenues.
“Well, again, we are going into territory that I don’t want to discuss out here, but people talk, people explore,” Wolff told media including Motorsport Week.
“And most importantly is that in our organisation, we are transparent. But it doesn’t change a millimetre of my opinion of George, his abilities or anything else.”
Wolff evasive on Verstappen dealings
Wolff has insisted he has no issue with Russell disclosing his dealings with Verstappen, though he stated that proceedings would advance outside the public domain.
“Whether I like it or not, I like what George says, and I’m always supportive of the driver, and there’s no such thing as saying things I wouldn’t want him to say,” he said.
“I think we are very transparent in the team for what we do, what we plan, and we’ve been like that since I was put in charge of that. So that’s not the issue.
“And at the moment, clearly you need to explore what’s happening in the future.
“But it doesn’t change anything of what I said before about George or about Kimi, about the line-up that I’m extremely happy of having.”
Asked whether Verstappen had a deadline, Wolff replied: “Well, you make it sound like that we have been asking: ‘When do you want to join and what are the terms?
“That’s not how it is and how it works. I want to have the conversations behind closed doors, not [in] town halls.
“We have two drivers that have been in our program a long time, drivers I’m perfectly happy to have, drivers that will do great in the future of the team. So it’s a bit different, the situation.”
Russell’s bombshell appears to have gone against Wolff’s claim that he would stop “flirting” with drivers – including Verstappen – outside the German marque’s line-up.
But when pressed on whether circumstances had changed, Wolff quipped: “Define ‘flirting’. No, nothing changed.
“There is no flirt in that sense. You can flirt or you have conversations.”
Wolff open to Russell-Verstappen pairing at Mercedes
Meanwhile, the Austrian dismissed that Russell and Verstappen’s explosive past could dissuade him from partnering the two multiple-time race winners at Mercedes.
“Well, I can imagine every line-up. I had [Nico] Rosberg and [Lewis] Hamilton fighting for a World Championship, so everything else afterwards is easy,” he highlighted.
“So yeah, there are pros and cons of having two drivers fighting each other hard and we’ve seen examples where that functions and other examples where it didn’t.”
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