Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has confirmed the team's interest in signing Max Verstappen from Red Bull for the 2026 Formula 1 season, revealing ongoing discussions with the four-time world champion.
Speaking ahead of this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix, Wolff acknowledged that "conversations behind closed doors" were taking place with Verstappen, who remains under contract with Red Bull until 2028.
"You make it sound like we have been asking, 'when do you want to join and what are the terms?' That's not how it is and how it works," Wolff said when pressed about setting a deadline for the Dutchman's decision.
The Mercedes boss's comments came after George Russell revealed on Thursday that his contract, which expires at the end of this season, has not been extended because Mercedes are still trying to sign Verstappen.
Toto Wolff is a big fan of Max Verstappen and wants to sign him to Mercedes
PAWolff responded to Russell's remarks by saying: "I like what George says and I'm always supportive of the driver.
"There is no such thing as saying things I wouldn't want him to say."
He emphasised the team's transparency, stating: "We are very transparent in the team for what we do, what we plan, and we've been like that since I was put in charge."
Wolff maintained that he remains content with Mercedes' current driver line-up, which includes Russell and young driver Kimi Antonelli.
"At the moment, clearly you need to explore what's happening in the future, but it doesn't change anything of what I said before about George, about Kimi, about the line-up that I'm extremely happy having," he stated.
The Austrian emphasised his satisfaction with both drivers, who have been part of Mercedes' programme for an extended period.
"We have two drivers that have been in our programme a long time, drivers that I'm perfectly happy to have, drivers that will do great in the future of the team," Wolff explained.
Despite Verstappen and Russell's recent on-track clashes and verbal disputes, Wolff refused to rule out pairing the two drivers together at Mercedes.
Max Verstappen's contract with Red Bull expires in 2028
REUTERSThe pair engaged in an extraordinary war of words at last year's season finale in Abu Dhabi and clashed again at the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this month, where Verstappen was penalised for causing a collision with Russell.
When asked about managing potential tensions, Wolff said: "I can imagine every line-up. I had Rosberg and Hamilton fighting for a world championship, so everything else afterwards is easy."
He acknowledged there are "pros and cons of having two drivers fighting each other hard," noting examples where such pairings have both succeeded and failed.
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