27 March 2024 , 22:49
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Toto Wolff has confirmed that Mercedes will try and tempt Max Verstappen to jump ship and become Lewis Hamilton’s replacement.
Verstappen is currently bidding to win his fourth Formula 1 World Championship in succession with Red Bull. He is at the top of the standings after three races of the 2024 season, despite retiring from the Australian Grand Prix with a brake failure after just four laps on the weekend.
Mercedes need to hire a new driver for the 2025 season, when Hamilton will join Ferrari, and Wolff hasn’t ruled out luring Verstappen from their biggest rivals. The Dutchman has committed his future to Red Bull, where he is contracted until 2028, but the Christian Horner saga has shown divisions in the camp, with Verstappen’s father Jos voicing his displeasure.
Mirror Sport reported on Saturday that Wolff is ready to pounce if he thinks Verstappen might be open to moving – and he has now explained himself. "We have a slot free, the only one in the top teams – unless Max decides he goes and then the slot is not going to be free with us anymore," Wolff told Fox Sports at the Australian Grand Prix.
Asked if Verstappen would be his number one choice, Wolff said: "Yes. You see what his performance levels are but I wouldn't want to discount the other ones too." He added: “It's a kind of relationship that needs to happen at a certain stage, but we don't know when.”
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Wolff has some history with Verstappen, having tried to sign him as a teenager and the 26-year-old responded to the approach in Australia. “It is always nice to hear that,” he said. “Toto and I have had our moments. That is normal between two teams battling for the championship but the respect has always been there. From my side, it doesn’t change anything.”
For now, Verstappen remains publicly committed to Red Bull, despite the Horner frictions. “I don’t know what will happen after 2028, if I will stay in F1 or continue or sign a new deal,” he said. “But that is why I signed the deal in the first place. I am happy within the team and it is my intention to be here in the end.”
Max Verstappen says he remains committed to Red Bull (Song Haiyuan/Getty Images)HAVE YOUR SAY! Who will replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes? Comment below.
Wolff has also name-checked George Russell, Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz and Andrea Kimi Antonelli as possibilities to replace Hamilton. He said: "[Russell] is having that seat, he's been part of our junior programme for a long time. The reason why is because he's great, so it's about the second seat.
"I think it depends also on what Max does. Then we have a young kid [Andrea Kimi Antonelli] that is very promising and I don't want to put more extra pressure on him, but it looks like he can be one of the great ones. But we also don't want to drown him by jumping so quickly in an F1 car at 17.
"So there are a few options that we can play with him. Obviously, there's Fernando [Alonso] who is very exciting, and Carlos [Sainz] is very good. So there are a few ones. I'm going to make the play like a bride – difficult to get!"