Revealed! Verstappen and Mercedes' conversations: Who approached whom first?

That there was a conversation between the Verstappen camp and Toto Wolff (CEO and team boss of the Mercedes F1 team) was obviously no secret. What has remained unclear all this time was, who approached whom first?

Was it Mercedes, seeing how Verstappen was going through a difficult time with Red Bull - both in sports and due to the internal disputes within the team? Or was it Verstappen's entourage, who after all the problems with the Austrian racing stable wanted to see what the options were elsewhere?

GPblog has learned the answer to that question from various sources in the F1 paddock in recent weeks: it was Verstappen's entourage who first reached out to Mercedes, and specifically Toto Wolff. He was - naturally - interested to hear what might be possible with the best driver on the F1 grid.

While the initial discussions were taking place, George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli had to wait in the wings at Mercedes. Given the possibility that Verstappen could be brought in by Mercedes, Wolff could obviously not extend the expiring contracts of both drivers.

However, Wolff always played with an open hand towards his current drivers. For Russell and Antonelli it was always clear that they could stay in principle, unless there was that small chance of Verstappen. In that case, a tough choice had to be made, which would cost one of the two drivers.

Now that it is certain that Verstappen will stay with Red Bull, talks with Mercedes have naturally also ended. The expectation is that Mercedes will soon announce the line-up for 2026 in a joint statement. That this will consist of Russell and Antonelli is no surprise.