Verstappen at Mercedes? Wolf: “Decide between machine and values” – News

By Valerio Baretta

Wolff seduces Verstappen and teases Red Bull

Toto Wolf Continue your engagement with Max Verstappen. The Austrian can imagine that peace at Red Bull is nothing but a truce in the power struggle, or worse, a cosmetic operation that tries to take the spotlight away from Helmut Marko and Chris Horner, and therefore he wants to take advantage of it in order to clash with his hero rivals.

If something leaks through the great walls of Milton Keynes and if conflicting messages arrive from the Red Bull press office, between acceptance and no confirmations, the fire is big and will not be put out with a bucket of water. Wolff, as an experienced manager, knows that better than anyone, and continues to use Verstappen, the object of desire that until a few months ago harbored his nightmares, not his dreams.

Wolf's words

After today's extra opener, Wolff tried to convince the Dutchman to move to Mercedes in 2025 by teasing Red Bull: “Yes, I'm waiting for that. A few months ago I never expected to be able to say this“, these are his words in an interview with the Dutch Telegraph. “I don't want to speculate too much about his thoughts or pressure him. Now he's in the best car and has a great relationship with Red Bull, just maybe The entire business environment right now is not what it should be. Just in time Max, Gus and Raymond (Director El Vermeulen, NDA) They will have to decide what their priority is: The car, the results or certain values ​​within the team that can be respected or not and which they consider important? Knowing them well, I think Max and Gus are very connected by clear values“.

“Gus and I are the same age. I think we always respect each other and also have the same kind of humor. I think the most important thing is that we both don't like bullshit. Gus knows more about racing than I do, and Max does, and I probably know more about running an organization” Wolf explained.It's unfortunate that there is some rivalry, but I will always defend my driver, and he probably would have behaved the same way. Looking back on 2021, I obviously made some mistakes, but I can't go back. Max, Gus and I talked about it and everything was cleared up“.

“I think that in the role of Lewis Hamilton's replacement there is only a small group of interesting drivers for us. Among them there are some drivers who will not make hasty decisions. There are options for short-term commuters, but also long-term ones. In Red Bull there is a certain mode. Therefore, it is assumed, Max will decide his future in the coming weeks depending on how the situation develops. What if it was number one on your wish list? It's a great opportunity. We already knew Lewis might leave after this year when he signed the contract. But at the same time, this creates opportunities for us, while Ferrari and McLaren have no seats available. I want to let my mind wander over the next two or three months and then decide what direction to take. We would rather run towards the right decision than run towards the wrong decision“.