Toto Wolff backtracks on ‘mistake’ term when co-incidences happened with Max Verstappen, while he was negotiating with current Mercedes F1 drivers.
It is not a surprise anymore to find out that Mercedes team boss Wolff held talks with Red Bull’s Verstappen about a potential switch to the German F1 team. The saga has been on for some time now, which seemingly cost Christian Horner his position in the Milton Keynes-based outfit.
The talks continued on this year while Wolff was in negotiation with George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli about their F1 2026 deals. Before the confirmation, the Austrian was spotted with Verstappen in Sardinia during the summer holidays, which created a stir about potential talks.
Whatever the discussion took place there, Verstappen eventually firmed his Red Bull commitment after summer break, while Mercedes became more certain about retaining Russell and Antonelli. The deal dragged on due to finer details and was eventually confirmed ahead of the F1 US GP.
Wolff acknowledged the co-incidences that happened in the period leading to signing of contract. The Austrian admitted that it is always tough to be transparent with things when you are negotiating with current drivers, and also trying to ascertain about others in the market.
“So here we go already – October! I think, being open and transparent is the best path forward,” said Wolff. “Sometimes it bites you a bit. And when you look back, maybe certain events could have been better—coincidences that happened. But I’ve always done it in the most straightforward and fair way.
“I stand by the driver choices—by George and Kimi. Like I said, this is the full focus, and that was always the aim, throughout the more tricky part over the summer.” On Sky Sports F1, he termed the situation as a mistake, especially when he was spotted with Verstappen on the yacht.
“So the truth is, you’ve got to learn from the mistake,” said Wolff. “I think there wasn’t any on purpose flirting. It’s just a coincidence. It was clear that you need to have that conversation, and then we ended up in the same place in the summer, which obviously doesn’t look good and is destabilising for everyone. But that’s the past. Now, everything is cleared, contracts are signed, and we move forward.”
But post-race, Wolff back-tracked on terming it as a mistake. He felt it was more about perception and respect which still remains on every front. “Sometimes you need to be sensitive to how things are being portrayed,” said Wolff. “And that, there was co-incidences.
“I think it’s not that it was a mistake. I know I said it was a mistake, but it’s more like how would a driver, how would a team principal perceive lots of interaction with a competitor. But then, we know each other well, we respect each other, a certain degree of friendship among many of us,” summed up Wolff.
Here’s George Russell, Toto Wolff on tyre scene
Here’s Andrea Kimi Antonelli on Carlos Sainz hit
