Max Verstappen, Red Bull Formula 1 driver, does not see any harm in Toto Wolff trying to sign him off. He failed to provide a clear answer on whether he is considering switching from Red Bull to Mercedes.
Wolff has expressed his interest in signing the Dutch driver to fill in for Lewis Hamilton. The British driver is set to join Ferrari next year.
Wolff recently opened up about his engagement with driver’s management at Red Bull. He is close to Verstappen’s father Joe and talks more often about his relationship since he tried to pursue the World Champion.
Initially, Verstappen shied about the meeting when reporters asked for a comment about Wolff’s comments. Autosport asked categorically whether Wolff should stop talking about pursuing him or not.
He said, “No, I mean, everyone can say what they want. I get on very well with Toto. I think he’s very open about what’s happening within his team, right?
“Also, I think with the driver line-up and stuff. So there’s nothing wrong with that. And at the same time, also, I just focus on my job. There’s a lot to do anyway. So, yeah, we just focus on that.”
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Verstappen lost the home ground race to British driver Lando Norris. The latter is in great shape with his McLaren winning by a wide margin.
Verstappen added: “Lando is very, very fast. I think that’s what you need to be. And that’s why he’s also in Formula 1, and why he’s performing at the level that he’s at.
“And it will only get better with experience as well, right? I mean, of course, I’ve been fighting for championships probably a bit longer, so you’re probably a bit more experienced with that.
“But at the end of the day, when the team is working well, the car is working well, you’re driving well, then it just comes to you as well. So, yeah, I never doubted that anyway.”
Wolff responded to a question about whether he would sign Verstappen or Andrea Kimi for next season.
“That’s why I don’t want to talk about the 2026 driver lineup at that stage because I want to make it work with George and [hypothetically] Kimi,” Wolff then said.
He clarified: “That was all strategy, you know. I said something that might be wrong. We are only announcing next week. So maybe there is a surprise!”
