Verstappen talks continue: Wolff warns of "Mercedes pressure cooker"

Toto Wolff and Mercedes have selected Andrea Kimi Antonelli as Lewis Hamilton's replacement for the 2025 Formula 1 season. Antonelli has just turned 18 and has a long future ahead of him in Formula 1, while George Russell is only 26. Despite keeping a door open for Max Verstappen, Wolff claims his 2025 pairing is for the future but acknowledged Mercedes is a "pressure cooker".

On Saturday morning, Mercedes confirmed that Antonelli will race for Mercedes in 2025 alongside Max Verstappen. But earlier in the week, Wolff admitted that he will continue to flirt with Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

The prospect of Verstappen moving to Mercedes came about earlier in 2024. Verstappen's contract still runs through 2028 at Red Bull Racing, but suddenly it was not so certain that the Dutchman would serve that contract in full. At the beginning of the year, the turmoil began with an internal power struggle and Christian Horner being accused of inappropriate behaviour. A row ensued between Horner and the Verstappen family and Adrian Newey left. At Mercedes, they smelled their chance and tried to appeal to Verstappen to see if they could entice him into a switch.

Mercedes confirmed to GPblog that a Verstappen move to Mercedes in 2025 was no longer possible. This ended months of speculation about a possible switch for the reigning world champion, but Wolff is keen to keep the communication channels open.

In the announcement, Mercedes didn't confirm the length of Antonelli's contract, but if Wolff wants to try and get Verstappen in future years, the pressure will be on the driver pairing. Wolff explained how he sees the future in conversation with the media, including GPblog.

"These two [Russell and Antonelli] are the future. They have been and will be Mercedes drivers. And therefore, we have contracts with George and Kimi that go much longer. They are very complicated in terms of options, etc. This is a pressure cooker. Mercedes always has been a pressure cooker. But this is where we stand as a team today," Wolff said.

"We've done in the past, we always had very short contracts with each of the drivers. Even with Lewis [Hamilton] last time around was one plus one. And this is in a way how the team operated. But I think most important is to see how George and Kimi settle in. I see no reason at that stage of not giving them the faith and the trust of going forward. We wouldn't have gone for the lineup with these two if we wouldn't believe 100% that they are the best choice for Mercedes," Wolff added.