F1 News
Wolff comes up with new technique to pull Verstappen in
Lewis Hamilton's seat is still empty for next season. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff makes no secret of the fact that Max Verstappen is at the top of his list. A meeting between the two is scheduled to take place in Miami, with Wolff wanting to make these negotiations for the second seat at Mercedes as fair as possible.
Following the announcement in early 2024 that Lewis Hamilton will leave for Ferrari, it is Toto Wolff's job to find his replacement. The Mercedes team boss has indicated he wants to take his time with this. Max Verstappen is the driver Wolff would most like to see step into the Mercedes. With the turmoil at Red Bull in recently, it seems as if it could become more of a reality.
Apart from with Verstappen, does Wolff have any other meetings with drivers?
On Monday, the day after the Miami Grand Prix, Wolff and Verstappen will sit around the table. After Sunday's race, Wolff was asked if he has any other meetings with drivers besides Verstappen. The Austrian kept this in the middle. ''There's always plenty of names. I can't really say about the second driver. I think we've talked about the possibilities."
Wolff is throwing his strategy of appointing a second driver over a slightly different tack. Honesty and wait and see seem to be the basis of this. ''I want to be fair to these guys and not make it look like we are playing chess. Because we are not doing that. I think we want to take our time and see where Max's thinking goes. And at the same time monitor the other drivers. Carlos (Sainz) is very strong today again. And that's why we're a little bit on an observation mode at the moment," Wolff said.