Toto Wolff signals end to Max Verstappen interest with ‘open secret’ 2026 lineup

Toto Wolff hinted that Mercedes is no longer interested in acquiring Max Verstappen as they wish to retain the current lineup.

Toto Wolff signals end to Max Verstappen interest with ‘open secret’ 2026 lineup

Toto Wolff and Max Verstappen (images via IMAGO)

Toto Wolff‘s relentless pursuit to acquire Max Verstappen at Mercedes following Lewis Hamilton‘s exit from the team was not a surprise. The team principal believed the Dutchman to be a crucial asset for Brackley to return back to their glory days in Formula 1. However, Verstappen remained loyal to Red Bull and refused all the lucrative offers from Mercedes. Now, Wolff has potentially revealed that the German carmaker is no longer interested in pursuing the reigning world champion to join.

Toto Wolff had previously asserted that Max Verstappen’s move to Mercedes needed to happen after Lewis Hamilton ditched the team. However, Verstappen pulled out the stop lights and noted that not even $250 Million would see him join Brackley. McLaren Racing’s CEO Zak Brown had claimed that the Dutchman would still join Brackley by the end of the 2025 season.

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Regardless of the massive weight behind Verstappen’s move to Mercedes, Toto Wolff has made a shocking revelation. The team principal revealed that the team intended to retain both George Russell and Kimi Antonelli for the long term which was now an ‘open secret’. The 53-year-old insisted that the team did not make all the drivers’ discussion public which caused many speculations to come up. Still, Wolff assured that the situation was going as planned by Brackley.

It’s almost an open secret that we want to keep our drivers for the long term. We don’t make every discussion we have with the drivers public and that’s why this is going in the direction it should be going.”

Toto Wolff told motorsport.com

Wolff believed that such contracts for the drivers’ depended more on giving them a guarantee over their seat with the team in the next seasons. Both Russell and Antonelli have showcased great pace since the beginning of the 2025 season. Speaking on Mercedes sticking with their lineup, the 53-year-old said key discussions were needed for the interest of the driver and team. Hence, there was a ‘structured process’ underway as rumors of Verstappen joining Brackley remained purely speculative.

But such a contract is more than just giving the driver the guarantee that he will be in the car. There are conditions that you have to discuss in the interest of the team and the driver. So it is a structured process.

Toto Wolff added

Toto Wolff claims Mercedes ‘lucky to have’ George Russell

Mercedes’ challenger for the 2025 season seems to perform better than a majority of the teams at the forefront, except McLaren. Lead driver George Russell has maintained an impressive streak of performances since the beginning of the season. As such, Toto Wolff highlighted his contentment with retaining the 27-year-old in the team’s lineup for the coming future.

Toto Wolff and George Russell (Via Eurosport)
Toto Wolff and George Russell (Via Eurosport)

Toto Wolff pointed out that George Russell is a highly underrated driver as the reason behind it remained unknown. The Austrian labeled Russell as a ‘top driver’ and insisted that Mercedes was lucky to have him in the lineup. Wolff highlighted that Brackley acquired the prodigy Kimi Antonelli as the Briton remained a benchmark to the debutant in the 2025 season.

Not with us. Why is he underrated? I don’t know. He is a top, top driver and we are lucky to have him. The decision to take Kimi on board, we dared to do it because we knew that we have George as a benchmark. The car doesn’t go much faster than George and we know where the car will be with George, and that is the benchmark for Kimi.

Toto Wolff told motorsport.com

Max Verstappen set to face ‘atleast’ three more difficult races

Red Bull has suffered from a highly mediocre performance since the beginning of the 2025 season despite Max Verstappen keeping up with performances. The Dutchman held a meeting with the engineers in Milton Keynes to work on the issues in the car. Following the meeting, Helmut Marko has revealed the underlying truth behind the team’s dismal outing this year.

Max Verstappen and Gianpiero Lambiase (via Red Bull Content Pool)
Max Verstappen and Gianpiero Lambiase (via Red Bull Content Pool)

Marko pointed out that it would be impossible to quickly turn around the performance of a difficult car like RB21. Still, Verstappen had a very positive meeting with the engineers which boosted the team’s morale. The Austrian reckons that Milton Keynes still has the confidence to fight the championship this year. However, the 27-year-old would still face at least three more difficult races as the first triple-header of the 2025 season is right around the corner.

It is impossible to turn around a difficult car like the RB21 very quickly. But yesterday, Max Verstappen had a very positive meeting with the engineers. We really still have confidence. But realistically, the next three races will still be very difficult for Red Bull.

Helmut Marko told De Telegraaf

The 2025 season remains a massive unknown for Red Bull towards the end of the 2025 season. The team has to find massive improvements over the year to remain in the championship contention. Time will tell about how Verstappen copes with the massive challenger problems until the end of the year. As things currently are, the team might already be out of the battle for emerging victorious in the constructors’ championship by the end.