F1 News
Wolff wants Verstappen and apologises after behaviour: 'I made mistakes'
Until a few months ago, it seemed completely impossible. Meanwhile, Toto Wolff believes he has a serious chance of bringing Max Verstappen to Mercedes. Indeed, the internal turmoil at Red Bull Racing has made everything different. Wolff is even waiting several months before recruiting a successor to the departing Lewis Hamilton. Because the Austrian team boss is speaking out loud: he wants to bring Max Verstappen to Mercedes.
Recently, Jos Verstappen was already seen in talks with Toto Wolff, the team boss of the team that until recently was Max Verstappen and Red Bull's biggest rival. Shortly afterwards, GPblog already received confirmation that the old hurt between the Verstappens and Wolff was gone. Indeed, there was so much bickering and bickering going into the 2021 season that it seemed unlikely that Max Verstappen would ever race for Wolff's team.
During change, certainly also for Wolff, he told the Telegraaf. "Jos and I are the same age. I think we have always had respect for each other, and we also have the same kind of humour. I think the most important thing is that we both don't like bullshit. Jos knows more about racing than I do, and what about Max. Maybe I know a bit more about running an organisation again," Wolff openly praises Jos Verstappen.
Wolff and Verstappen on the same page
Looking back, the team boss regrets that tempers have flared in the past. "It is unfortunate that those moments of rivalry have been there. But maybe they would have acted that way too, if they were in my position and I will always defend my own driver (Hamilton in this case, in 2021, ed.). Looking back on that whole year, it is clear that I made some mistakes in the way I dealt with some things, and I cannot reverse that. But Max, Jos and I have talked about it and everything has been pronounced."
Wolff would love to see Verstappen become Russell's new teammate. But patience is called for, as a decision from Verstappen is not expected any time soon: "As Lewis' replacement, I think there is only a small group of drivers who are interesting for us. Among them are some drivers who are not going to make any rash decisions. Nor will Max Verstappen decide where his future lies some time in the next few weeks. There are options for drivers for the very short term, but also for the longer term. At Red Bull, there is - let me put it this way - a certain situation. Therefore, Max will presumably also start to see how that situation develops."