Toto Wolff doesn’t write off signing Max Verstappen in the future

Wolff unapologetic about pursuing the best drivers

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are the first teammates to fight for the Championship in almost a decade.

The last time two drivers at the same team fought for the crown was in 2026, when Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg battled at the front.

Toto Wolff spent several years watching on as his drivers fought intensely for the title.

On a few occasions, such as Spain 2016, this dynamic spilled over and created headaches for the Mercedes team principal.

Perhaps this is why the 52-year-old was happy keeping Bottas alongside Hamilton for so many years.

With that said, Wolff is no stranger to putting two top drivers alongside each other.

He demonstrated this again this year, where he pursued Max Verstappen in a bid to get his signature.

Whilst ultimately unsuccessful, Wolff’s intent to have a Verstappen-Russell or Verstappen-Antonelli combination was clear.

In either scenario, Mercedes would have to relinquish one of their drivers to make way for the Dutchman.

As he explained to the media in Zandvoort, however, Wolff views it as his obligation to enquire about a driver of Verstappen’s calibre:

“It is my obligation as a team principal here to explore what a 4-time World Champion is going to do in the future and what his situation is.

“And any driver out there will say that Max, as it stands, is probably the best. That’s not a secret.

“Every team needs to go for the best driver – sometimes you can’t have the best at the moment.

“Sometimes you need to wait for the time, and sometimes you need to develop the best.

“And for me today, what we have is a very good combination, and let’s see what it is in two or three years. It may be different.”

Mercedes contract extensions still negotiation phase

From Wolff’s perspective, it is not difficult to understand why Verstappen is such a priority target.

At the same time, it would be inaccurate to say hie advances haven’t impacted his current drivers.

George Russell, for example, spent months watching on as Mercedes negotiated with Verstappen.

This delayed his own negotiations, with Russell preferring to spend the summer thinking about his F1 future – rather than directly going into contract talks.

Moving forward, the British driver will want guarantees in his contract to avoid being in the same position again.

If Mercedes produce a winning car in 2026, Russell does not want to be worrying about his position within the team.

This is why the 27-year-old has insisted any agreement reached must be on the right terms.

Of course, Toto Wolff still wants to have some flexibility over the coming years.

Whether that means putting Russell or Antonelli on a short-term deal remains to be seen.

In any case, the Mercedes team principal makes no apologies for trying to assemble the best partnership possible:

“Yeah, it’s difficult. But these guys have learned to perform under pressure, and George is the first to acknowledge that he just needs to constantly perform.

“If he constantly performs, then the team has no reason to ever doubt his position. We need the two best drivers in the car.

“I’m not afraid of having the two best in the car.

“We’ve had that situation with Nico and Lewis, and that is going to continue to be my plan for the future, whatever the driver combination can be.”