Max Verstappen responded on his F1 future after Christian Horner’s axe, answering the Toto Wolff query, while Mercedes pair added about their talks.
Despite multiple put downs, the Verstappen-to-Mercedes rumours isn’t dying down for second year running now. With both George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli not under contract, it has kept the Dutchman’s line open, who is having his own up and down at Red Bull.
Even though Verstappen has a contract with Red Bull, but the team’s performances may become a factor for him moving out. The Dutchman has more or less denied it at every step, but still the speculations remain as headlines for months now.
With Horner’s departure, fresh reports emerged on his future. The two-week break saw F1 fans try to follow Verstappen’s jet’s path and even his yacht’s. In fact, some photoshopped image of Wolff entering the Dutchman’s jet, while some managed to pinpoint that both spent their holidays in one place.
This was actually confirmed by Verstappen that they happened to be at the same place when the Dutchman played down its significance. On Mercedes side, it is all new for Antonelli in terms of negotiations, which is unique considering the team also manages him.
It is same for Russell – since both are products of Mercedes programme. The Brit is calm about his situation, where he has linked his future based on performance. He is more worried if his performance dips, rather than any discussions on his F1 future.
Interestingly, he feels that if he can perform, he will be in F1 either way, even if he is not with Mercedes. But he reiterated the loyalty factor. He is not too worried about the Verstappen saga as well, as his management’s focus is also jotting the perfect contract for his good future.
Situation with Horner going –
Verstappen: “No, it doesn’t really [matter with Christian or not about my Red Bull future]. Now, I think people can have a difference of opinion here and then and I actually expect that to happen because if everyone always agrees, there is a problem. You need to have difference of opinions. That’s now something that we work with in a different direction. I’m excited about it. Like you said, I don’t think it will matter at all for my decision in the future. The only thing that matters is that we work on the car and make it as fast as we can make it really. Like I said, the last one and a half years have not been what we want to be. Now we try to be more competitive this year a little bit but for sure also with the new regulations.”
There is decision to make –
Verstappen: “There’s also a possibility I don’t wake up tomorrow. So then there is no driving at all. Life is unpredictable. But in general, I’m very happy where I’m at. And I hope, and that was still the target that we set out when we signed the new deal, that I would drive until the end of my career.”
Wolff meet –
Verstappen: “I was swimming in the ocean at the time. I don’t know. I don’t really care about those things. I went on holiday with my friends, my family. And when other people are there at the same time, that can happen. I mean, there are more people on the island than just me and Toto and the family. If you go to the same island, that can happen.”
Where at contract –
Antonelli: “That’s the one million-dollar question. (Lewis Hamilton: “I can help you with the contract. I know how to work Toto”.) OK, ok. No, I think, you know, I’ve never been worried, to be honest. I know the situation. I know what the team wants, especially looking at the future. Also, Toto has been clear recently, so that’s obviously good to see. But the team is working well. The line-up is good. Me and George are working well together. We’re trying to help the team to find performance again. I think we’re doing a good job, and there’s a really good atmosphere in the team. It’s always nice to go back to the factory and see how much the team is pushing—not only for this year but also ahead of next year. This means there’s a good dynamic in the team. I’m sure the team knows what’s best, especially for next year, and I’m pretty confident that I’m in a good position.”
Irritation with contract delay –
Russell: “It is my best season, but probably because this is probably the best car, but I’ve had in Formula 1 as well. I’m not that frustrated about my future. I’m not really thinking about it anymore, because I know it all comes down to performance and results. That’s always the case. That’s the good thing about a sport like Formula 1. Everything will work itself out into due course.”
Mercedes management and employer too –
Russell: “No, I’m managed by Mercedes. They, they control me, so – within reason – my destiny is in their hands. Yeah, I mean, this is obviously a bit of a unique situation where we find ourselves in. I’ve always had my best interests at heart, and we’ll find out what happens in the future, but I still have no reason to be concerned about my future with Mercedes, and ultimately, what’s the worst that’s going to happen if I’m performing? I’ll still be in Formula 1, and I will be somewhere competitive. So from my side, it just makes you think again. It just comes down to yourself. You’re in control of your own destiny. It’s a bit of a unique situation that I’m managed by the team, who I’m racing for, but that’s the same for Kimi as well, and that’s the position we find ourselves in.”
Where at conversations –
Russell: “I mean, the conversations have been ongoing, but not sort of directly with me as such. There’s a lot more hype around it externally than there is internally. The truth is, I’m not even… I think about it on a Thursday, because you guys asked me the question, but these past few months have sort of allowed me to think how I feel about a scenario like this, and you can choose to stress about it, you can choose to try and secure your future, or you can choose not to worry about it and focus on the things such as performance, which secures your future for you. Right now my view…these two weeks off have been great to reset, sort of psychologically and mentally. I feel happier probably now than I was in the months gone by, and at peace with everything that going on. I’m just thinking about race by race, and I’m in no rush to secure my future. It’ll be what it’ll be.”
Verstappen rumour set off by you –
Russell: “Well, first of all, I thought it was pretty public knowledge and common knowledge that the fact is most teams are talking with most drivers, to worry about their future. It’s not just the short-term future of next year. There’s conversations already going on for drivers of, ‘27, ‘28, ‘29, people who have always loved many years in advance. And, when I was at Williams, when I signed in 2019, 2022 was always the projection for me to join the team, if that makes sense. So the situation we find ourselves in now is, I don’t think it’s abnormal. And from my side, there is no tension because there’s two cars to every team, I am performing the best I have ever performed, I have scored majority of the points for the team, so if you look at the facts, you’ll argue that my job is done, so that’s why I am not concerned. If I stop performing, then I need to be concerned but I am more concerned about my performance than my future.”
Wolff stating Russell/Antonelli priority –
Russell: “No, not really – that was for you, not for me. What happens behind closed doors is behind closed doors. Nothing from my side has changed. I wasn’t even aware of this statement until one hour ago. So it’s not something I’m looking for. It’s not something I really care about, and as I said, these last months of going from the position where I was stressed about my future and I was concerned about it, and I’ve continued to perform, I just think it’s in my own hands. So there’s no point losing sleep about it. Mercedes need the best drivers in their race car and I believe that I’m right up there. I don’t think there’s many people doing a better job than I am. So, I need them and they need me and that’s how it goes in racing.”
Timeline now –
Russell: “I think it is going to be all right both ways. The intention was always pre-summer break, because that’s just people go into summer and you want to get something sorted. Realistically, is that going to be the case? I don’t know. There is still no contract on the table. So to have something done in the space of two weeks isn’t likely. It got to work both ways. You need to talk about finer details, and Formula 1’s evolving so much now, you need to go through everything with a fine-tooth comb to make sure it’s all okay. But as I said, there is no rush, really, from my side, because ultimately, Toto and the team will decide what they wish to do, and I will be in a position of reacting to what they wish to do. So I’m just focusing on performance and everything else will sort itself out.”
Here’s Max Verstappen and co on Christian Horner
Here’s Max Verstappen on Sebastian Vettel, Sergio Perez
Here’s last from Max Verstappen, George Russell on rumours