Toto Wolff makes latest intriguing claim over Max Verstappen Mercedes move

Toto Wolff believes Max Verstappen shouldn’t even consider a move to Mercedes until the team can demonstrate that they can win consistently again in F1.

Despite holding a contract until 2028, Verstappen has been heavily linked with a move away from Red Bull as soon as F1 2025 amid the early-season uncertainty that surrounded the team.

Toto Wolff: Max Verstappen shouldn’t consider Mercedes move… yet

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Having produced the most dominant campaign in history in F1 2023, winning 21 out of a possible 22 races as Verstappen eased to a third consecutive World Championship, Red Bull began F1 2024 with four wins from the first five rounds.

However, the team’s supremacy has been challenged over recent weeks after Red Bull were rocked by the news that long-serving designer Adrian Newey will leave in early 2025.

Verstappen has also found himself caught up in a feud between Christian Horner and his father Jos, who called for the team principal to resign in March after an investigation into Horner’s conduct was dismissed.

Key details: F1 driver market

👉 F1 2024 driver salaries revealed: Who are the highest-paid drivers on the grid?

👉 F1 driver contracts: What is the contract status of every driver on the 2024 grid?

Mercedes have won each of the last two races in Austria, where George Russell took advantage of a collision between Verstappen and Lando Norris to secure the team’s first victory since November 2022, and Britain, where Lewis Hamilton held off Verstappen’s late charge to claim a record-extending 104th career triumph.

Wolff has made no secret of his desire to sign Verstappen as Ferrari-bound Hamilton’s replacement for F1 2025, stating earlier this season that he “would love to have” the 26-year-old.

Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com, however, Wolff has conceded that Verstappen should not consider a move to Mercedes until the team can prove themselves a compelling alternative to Red Bull.

He said: “We need two to crash at the front to win at the moment.

“I think we still need to look at ourselves and say: ‘What can we do in order to have a car that is able to race with these two at the front and do it more regularly?’

“And I think this is a moment where we can say that we can be or harbor port or destination for the best drivers, including Max.

“But we’re not there yet, so if I was him I wouldn’t be considering such a move. Yet.”

Wolff comments come after Robert Doornbos, the former Red Bull driver, urged Verstappen to “seriously consider” joining Mercedes for next season with the W15’s improved form making the Brackley-based team a more appealing option than the start of F1 2024.

Doornbos believes that would allow Verstappen to “dominate again” if Mercedes emerge as the best team under the new F1 2026 regulations.

He said: “I still believe he will go to Mercedes. We talk about 2026, because it’s important to be with the team with the best engine.

“But I think Mercedes would rather have it happen in 2025, because then they can wave goodbye to one World Champion and welcome another World Champion.

“Since Mercedes didn’t have a competitive car earlier in the year, it was a ‘no brainer’ for Max to stay with Red Bull next year, who were still quite dominant at that time, but that has suddenly changed.

“That could be due to all kinds of factors, such as the unrest within the team, the departure of Adrian Newey and a second driver [Sergio Perez] who is causing terrible headaches.

“There is simply a lot going on behind the scenes at Red Bull and at the same time you see Mercedes becoming increasingly competitive. That team is on a serious streak.

“Max has to see whether Red Bull can still get things back on track or whether the wave the team was surfing on is over. In any case, it should not deteriorate much further.

“In principle, Max still has a contract, but in my opinion Max should seriously consider whether he should join Mercedes before 2025.

“If Mercedes really turns out to be that good, he could have a great gap year at Mercedes next year and then dominate again from 2026.”

Read next: How the Max Verstappen effect is beating McLaren’s brains and computers