Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff faced a barrage of questions from the media on Friday at the Red Bull Ring following George Russell’s revelation on Thursday that the team is in talks with Max Verstappen for a potential move in 2026.
The British driver’s comments, made ahead of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, have reignited speculation about the four-time world champion’s future, despite his contract with Red Bull running until 2028.
As rumours persist of potential break clauses that could allow Verstappen to depart earlier, Wolff did not shut down the narrative outright, appearing therefore to keeping the door open to a sensational transfer.
When asked directly about the latest developments, Wolff chose his words carefully but made no attempt to deny contact with Verstappen.
“Well, again, we are going into territory that I don’t want to discuss out here, but people talk, people explore,” he said. “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 also pushed back against suggestions that Russell’s comments were ill-judged, maintaining that the team fosters an open environment.
“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.”
Pressed on whether Verstappen has been handed a deadline to make a decision, Wolff responded: “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.”
He was quick to reiterate his faith in Mercedes’ existing driver pairing of Russell and rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who is expected to step up to a full-time race seat in 2025.
“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.”
Wolff also responded to the suggestion that he had reversed his stance on “flirting” with drivers outside of Mercedes.
“Define ‘flirting’,” he laughed. “No, nothing changed. There is no flirt in that sense. You can flirt or you have conversations.”
With Verstappen and Russell’s past on-track clashes well documented, Wolff was asked whether such a partnership would be viable. The Austrian insisted that past tensions wouldn’t deter him.
“Well, I can imagine every line-up,” he said. “I had [Nico] Rosberg and [Lewis] Hamilton fighting for a World Championship, so everything else afterwards is easy.
“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.”
For now, Wolff remains coy on how close Mercedes really are to luring Verstappen — but as the rumour mill churns, it’s clear that conversations are happening, and they’re happening seriously.
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