Toto Wolff has been told he would be “crazy to say no” to the chance to sign Max Verstappen. The Dutchman has long been linked with a Mercedes move, fuelled last year by chief executive and team principal Wolff who made no secret of the fact he was courting the four-time world champion.
Verstappen chose not to leave Red Bull then, but has the opportunity to do so for 2027 should he decide to pursue a fresh start. Because he is outside of the top two in the drivers’ championship as of the start of the summer break, a clause in his contract is active which, if triggered, gives him a way out despite the deal running through 2028.
And former F1 racer Johnny Herbert does not think Wolff should pass up the chance to sign Verstappen if it comes along. “I still don’t think Mercedes are out of the running for Max,” he told Casinostugan. “George unfortunately has not quite been able to attack for the championship in the manner many of us expected, which means that there is that weaker second seat potentially available down the line.
“Would you say no to Max? I think in many respects you’d be crazy to say no, because I think it would only make Mercedes stronger as a team. Does it bring a few difficulties into the mix? Maybe. But Toto has been through that with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, for example. So, he has experienced it before. And I don’t think the rivalry between Max and Kimi would be as intense.
“Max is a much mature Max than he was before. He is now a family man, and maybe he sees things in a very slightly different way? But would he love the challenge of Kimi? Absolutely. And I think would Toto too, especially if Antonelli actually beat Max.”
As it stands, Verstappen is most likely to remain with Red Bull for another year, even if only for lack of viable alternative options. Mercedes say they were full and not changing, while the same is true at Ferrari with Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. Lately, the strongest links have been with a move to McLaren, even though the team says it is happy with Oscar Piastri and defending champion Lando Norris.
Yet, the latter has been spoken about a lot lately as an option given Verstappen’s long-time race engineer is heading there, and Herbert can see that happening. He added: “Gianpiero Lambiase, with whom he has such a wonderful relationship, is obviously going to the Papaya. And maybe that’s a relationship Max would ultimately want to continue with?”