Toto Wolff admits Max Verstappen is a driver he would “love to have” at Mercedes next season but believes he needs to improve the car on offer to attract the three-time world champion.
Verstappen’s future at Red Bull has come under increased scrutiny amid the power struggle that has been taking place following an investigation into Christian Horner’s alleged behavior, with Verstappen firmly backing Helmut Marko at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The Dutchman stated Marko needs to stay or it could influence his own decision-making when it comes to remaining at Red Bull, and while the Austrian appears set to continue in his role, Wolff says he’d jump at the chance to sign Verstappen.
“Let’s word it like this, I think this is a decision that Max needs to take and there is no team up and down the grid that wouldn’t do handstands to have him in the car,” Wolff said.
“I’d love to have him, but first we need to sort out our car. First, we owe it to George [Russell] and Lewis [Hamilton] to improve the car and give them equipment that is good before dreaming about the future next year.”
With Mercedes securing a best finish of fifth in each of the opening two races, Wolff admits he expects Verstappen to want to stay at Red Bull given the dominance he is enjoying, even if he believes his management team are unhappy with current situation off-track.
“A driver will always try to be in the fastest possible car. 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 [Verstappen] and Max and Raymond [Vermeulen, 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.”
The links between Verstappen and Mercedes have gained more attention given the vacancy at Wolff’s team in 2025, as Hamilton heads to Ferrari. However, the team principal says he’s willing to see how the driver market plays out before committing to any replacement.
“I think we are going to wait. We are going to wait. 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.”