Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has playfully suggested that his team already works alongside Max Verstappen, just not in the Formula 1 paddock.
Speaking during Mercedes’ traditional Dutch Grand Prix media session with the Dutch press at Zandvoort, Wolff drew laughs with his characteristically sharp wit.
The annual roundtable has become a reliable source of memorable moments, with Wolff previously using it to effectively confirm Kimi Antonelli’s F1 promotion ahead of the official Monza announcement.
Last year, Wolff used the same setting to speak openly about talks with Verstappen over a potential Mercedes move, and even addressed AI-generated deepfakes of the pair that had been circulating online.
This time around, with Verstappen now signed to a new Red Bull deal, Wolff acknowledged that the prospect of an F1 move looks less likely than it did twelve months ago.
However, Wolff was quick to reframe the conversation, pointing out that the two parties are already collaborating through the Mercedes-AMG GT3 programme that Verstappen competes in alongside his F1 commitments.
“Well, the paths have crossed already with the GT racing. I think when we jointly developed that programme a year and a half ago it seemed a long shot,” Wolff said, acknowledging that Red Bull’s openness to the arrangement had been key to its success.
“But they were open-minded and we are thankful for that because the project has been a success, the Red Bull Mercedes project. We have this joint cooperation between the two brands and Max, and it is nice to see that it’s successful.”
Wolff then joked that Mercedes effectively gets Verstappen for what he considers the more meaningful events, referencing the brutal endurance races held on the legendary Nordschleife circuit in Germany.
“Exactly! You know, we have these things here in F1 with massive gravel traps and flat run-off zones. The real racing is where you go through the trees and up and downs over crests and blind corners. And against the Dacia!”
His Dacia reference was aimed at Olli’s Garage Racing, a fan-favourite team that campaigns a Dacia Logan in the iconic Nurburgring 24 Hours, competing against far more powerful machinery in what has become one of motorsport’s most endearing stories.
Wolff was so taken with the mention that he immediately turned to a Mercedes press officer and suggested the Dacia crew should be invited to an actual Formula 1 Grand Prix, adding with a laugh: “No, seriously, they are heroes!”
“You race against 150 cars on the Nordschleife in day and night, fog and rain, and ice. So obviously none of these races are 24 hours, but those are the real hero races,” Wolff added, underscoring his genuine admiration for the event.
When asked whether Verstappen might one day race for Mercedes in Formula 1, Wolff was measured, pointing out that the driver market is impossible to predict over a two or three year horizon.
“And what the future holds, I don’t know, but the mindset is what I have just said. I don’t know where the paths are going to cross. Will it be in karting, will it be in GTs, or will it be in F1 or some other joint projects in the future?”
Wolff did concede that an F1 partnership may not be the inevitable destination, adding: “I think that may happen one day, but maybe not necessarily with Max in a Mercedes Formula 1 car.”
With Kimi Antonelli firmly established as Mercedes’ long-term F1 future, the pressure to pursue Verstappen in the championship has naturally diminished considerably.
Wolff also addressed the broader question of whether Verstappen would enjoy similar freedoms to pursue outside motorsport projects at a different F1 team, reflecting on his own management philosophy.
“I think every team is different, but I think what I am trying to do is to identify what it is that makes the driver fast within our structure,” Wolff explained, emphasising driver well-being as a central part of that approach.