Wolff: 'I've had Verstappen's father in the office in Brackley'

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, who previously said he advised that Verstappen should choose Red Bull Racing, has opened up about the relationship between him and the Dutchman. The Austrian did so in an interview with ESPN.

"I spoke to Jos Verstappen and Huub Rothengatter (Jos Verstappen's manager during his F1 career) when they came to my office in Brackley. It must have been when Max was karting or it was just before Formula 3. I think in 2013 or in 2014," the Mercedes man told. "And then we spoke again when Max and Jos visited me in my house in Vienna. We spent a few hours discussing his future."

Wolff and others were already scouting Verstappen

Wolff did see that Verstappen had talent, but the question was how good he really was. " The insiders knew there was a very good one coming, but it was not clear he was that good at that stage," he said.

Asked if he ever tried to approach Verstappen after he signed for Red Bull, Wolff added: "After that, we always had friendly contact, but never talked about racing."

Wolff also mentioned that Lewis Hamilton's presence at Mercedes also meant that Verstappen was never a real target for the team. Would the duo of Verstappen and Hamilton have worked? " Maybe not," Wolff replied.