Mercedes chief Toto Wolff says he’s not looking to sign Max Verstappen for 2026

With superstar Lewis Hamilton leaving behind a massive void at Mercedes, there were rumours swirling around that the team was looking to snap up reigning F1 world champion Max Verstappen for the 2026 season. However, ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, Mercedes team principal and chief executive Toto Wolff has dismissed rumours linking the team with a prospective swoop for Verstappen.
“I think we’ve said it pretty clearly last year, and (Verstappen) said the same, we need to concentrate on our driver line-up, we need to do (the best with) that we have,” Wolff told reporters on Thursday. “I don’t flirt outside if I’m in a good relationship, and that is true for this year, too. So, at the moment that is not on any, let’s say, radar and I don’t plan to shift my concentration away from these guys and make sure that George (Russell) has a contract (extension) pretty soon and we agree on the final things. We have had a chat (with Russell) a few weeks ago about what the right timing would be to liaise, and I’m — naively or not — someone that sticks to what he says.”
The current driver line-up of Mercedes for the 2025 season will see it have rookie prospect Andrea Kimi Antonelli taking up a spot along with George Russell.
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Mercedes are in the middle of a spell that has seen the team win just five races in the last three seasons. Of those, four victories came in the 2024 season.
Wolff also reposed faith in his current line up of drivers to deliver soon.
“These three (including reserve driver Valtteri Bottas) are the combination that I want to go forward with Mercedes, and I have no reasons to doubt that. We’re going to find some time, I guess, before the summer.”
Hamilton raced for Mercedes from 2007 to 2024, before opting to join Ferrari for the 2025 season.