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Laurence Edmondson
Toto Wolff has confirmed Mercedes is exploring the potential for signing Max Verstappen sooner or later, however insists it isn’t impacting ongoing contract talks with George Russell for 2026.
Hypothesis over Verstappen leaving Purple Bull for Mercedes intensified on Thursday after Russell said his talks were being delayed as a result of his staff can also be pursuing the four-time world champion.
Russell is out of contract with Mercedes on the finish of this 12 months, which additionally has 18-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli signed on a long-term deal.
Verstappen is below contract with Purple Bull till 2028, though the staff’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has spoken brazenly about performance-based clauses that would see the 27-year-old depart earlier than that date.
“To begin with, there isn’t any delay in George’s contract scenario as a result of it is fairly clear since a very long time what our timings have been,” Wolff told Sky Sports. “We have recognized one another for such a very long time so there isn’t any such factor as a delay.
“But additionally as a staff principal liable for one of the best automobile model on this planet it’s clear you are exploring what a four-time world champion goes to do sooner or later, and that could possibly be a very long time sooner or later. However that has no impact on us placing a signature on George’s contract.”
Wolff added that Russell was conscious of Mercedes’ place on Verstappen.
“What we are attempting to do within the staff is be clear, as we’re,” the staff boss added. “You’ll be able to select to carry issues below wraps, or do what we have carried out within the final 20 years I have been right here [which is] placing it on the market and saying that is the scenario.
“These drivers are intelligent individuals they usually discuss to one another. I am all the time open about these items, and I am saying it how it’s and there is no such factor as saying, ‘we’re going to signal Max,’ as a result of it is so far-off that it is not reasonable at that stage. So with George, we discuss every thing.”
Previous to these feedback, Wolff spent the vast majority of Friday’s press convention on the Austrian Grand Prix deflecting questions on his pursuit of Verstappen.
When Wolff was requested if there was a deadline for signing Verstappen, he stated his “conversations” weren’t at that stage.
“You make it sound like we’ve been asking when do you need to be part of and what are the phrases. That is not how it’s and never the way it works. And I come again to my earlier reply.
“I need to simply have the conversations behind closed doorways. Not city halls. And we’ve two drivers which were in our programme since a very long time.
“Drivers that I am completely comfortable to have. Drivers that can do nice in the way forward for the staff. So it’s kind of totally different scenario.”
Talking in a press convention on Thursday, Verstappen refused to present a direct reply on the place he can be driving in 2026, including gasoline to hypothesis about his future.
“I do not assume we have to discuss that,” Verstappen stated. “I do not know, would you like me to repeat what I stated final 12 months? I do not know. It is the identical reply.
“I do not even bear in mind what I stated final 12 months, actually. However once more, it is probably not on my thoughts. Simply driving nicely, attempting to push the efficiency, after which we deal with subsequent 12 months.”
When Wolff was requested what Russell wanted to do to be given a contract extension, he added: “Nothing. He has been a part of our programme since 10 years or so. He is all the time carried out to the expectations that we’ve set. And he is persevering with to take action.
“We’ve not given him a automobile to win world championship within the final three years. In order that’s utterly on us. And the instances the automobile has been good, he has been profitable races.
“And you’ll see right this moment [in free practice], he is all the time there. that when he is getting within the automobile, he will extract what’s within the automobile. So having stated that, for no matter cause, in early summer time, these sort of contract discussions begin to find yourself being accelerated within the media or accelerated due to a ignorance.
“Nicely, what I’ve been doing the final 30 years in a standard enterprise, contract discussions aren’t being held on the town halls. So every thing is regular. The whole lot goes to plan.”
Requested if Russell and Verstappen could possibly be a doable driver line-up for the long run, Wolff added: “Nicely, I can think about each line-up. I’ve had [Nico] Rosberg and [Lewis] Hamilton combating for a world championship, so every thing else afterwards is simple.
“So, yeah, there’s professionals and cons of getting two drivers combating one another arduous. And we have seen examples the place that functioned and different examples the place it did not.”