Max Verstappen 'staying in the family' as Toto Wolff teases Red Bull

Verstappen surprised everyone before his home Grand Prix in Zandvoort by recommitting to Red Bull until 2030.

The new deal ends years of speculation, with Mercedes CEO and team principal Wolff publicly flirting with Verstappen during the 2024 season once Lewis Hamilton’s departure to Ferrari was confirmed.

George Russell even confirmed talks between Mercedes and Verstappen, but eventually his form and the emergence of Kimi Antonelli meant that - according to Verstappen - it was a choice between Red Bull and retirement.

However, there will be allowances for Verstappen so that he can continue racing in other events, particularly GT3, where he drives a Mercedes.

Wolff was keen to point that out when discussing the new mega contract to Viaplay.

Asked about the deal itself, Wolff paid compliment to Verstappen’s agent, Raymond Vermeulen.

“Well, what can I say?” he replied. “I'm sure that Raymond’s done a very good job, let's see.”

Wolff was in fine spirits after Mercedes took sprint pole through Russell, while Antonelli showed good pace despite damage to his car.

Keeping the mood high, he even poked fun at his driver’s big engagement announcement.

“[It was] strong from George coming back like this after the summer break,” he remarked.

Commenting on Antonelli’s issues, he added: “We lost about 20 points [of downforce], so that's a massive loss.

Wolff finished: “I think if you have a good start, it's quite difficult to overtake here. But the Ferraris have shown an incredibly strong long run in FP1, so we don't really know what to do with that.