Toto Wolff declares Max Verstappen pursuit over: ‘I’m not flirting outside’

Toto Wolff has drawn a line under his pursuit of Max Verstappen by insisting they will now look to support their current drivers having signed Kimi Antonelli.

While Lewis Hamilton’s seat remained vacant, Wolff was openly courting Verstappen having missed out on the chance to sign him in 2015 but that pursuit has come to an end.

Toto Wolff ends Max Verstappen interest

The troubles at Red Bull as well as the upcoming engine changes led Wolff to believe there was a remote possibility of attracting the reigning World Champion to Brackley but that door now appears closed.

In Monza, Mercedes confirmed that youngster Antonelli would step up into Hamilton’s seat and even if both he and George Russell only have a deal until the end of 2025, Wolff has declared his pursuit of Verstappen over.

“We’re sitting back,” he told Motorsport.com.

“I think I’ve expressed it before, and we have a similar view also from Max’s side: you’ve got to put faith in your drivers or in your team. You need to give it the maximum support you can to make it a success. And only if things go really wrong, you will consider other opportunities.

“For me, it’s like flirting outside whilst you’re making your relationship work. It doesn’t work, I’m not flirting outside.

“Only if I want to have a change, or consider a change, I would seek a conversation. And it is the same on his side. We’re pretty aligned in our values on that I think.”

At the time of Antonelli’s announcement, Wolff was probed on Verstappen and said if there was any change, Russell and Antonelli would be the first to know. Given the hype around Antonelli, it would seem most likely that Russell would be the one out the door if Verstappen does come but Wolff believes the 26-year-old is the team’s future.

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“George has a similar trajectory in terms of karting and junior formula, and George was the first Mercedes junior that joined us,” he said. “He’s still our Mercedes driver.

“We don’t make a big difference [between him and Antonelli]. Emotionally, we give them the same support. Nothing changes.

“Every top driver in F1 knows that he needs to compete against their team-mate, whether he’s young or old. George’s team-mate has been Lewis Hamilton, the greatest driver of all time, for three years.

“So he will be just fine competing against one of the youngest, who comes in with great expectations.”

Wolff’s comments also come at a time when Christian Horner, either tactically or genuinely, linked Red Bull to Russell, suggesting he was a driver on their radar.

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