Wolff rejects the idea that Verstappen would not fit at Mercedes

In Zandvoort it became clear that a Verstappen-Mercedes pairing in Formula 1 will once again not happen. The four-time world champion confirmed ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix that he has extended his stay at Red Bull Racing until the end of 2030. The German outfit had previously made it clear that the speculation about Verstappen’s move to the Silver Arrows was baseless, although Wolff did say that he ‘wouldn’t be afraid’ of the Verstappen-Kimi Antonelli combination.

He reiterates that in a conversation with, among others, GPblog: “All these things certainly play a role, but I also believe that we could have managed the situation that was different. Remember Alonso, where he didn't expect Alonso to be so quick, and then it almost broke the team. But I don't think that was the situation that would have been a situation with us.”

Wolff trusts in Mercedes’ resilience, which, he expects, could have dealt with such a moment: “I think we could have accommodated that. So it was more about, you know, we feel that when it comes to Constructor World Championship and drivers, we have two hot irons in the fire. And maybe if it wouldn't have worked out with one or the other teammates, then we would have considered outside (the Mercedes pool.”

Wolff is reminded that if Verstappen had switched to Mercedes, he would suddenly have found himself in a very different environment than at Red Bull, which many believe is ‘built around Verstappen’: “Well, it's not happened, so we're not doing it. But I think that The mindset that I described before is when a great driver joins a great team and the other way around, then the dynamics need to work.”

According to Wolff, it can only work if both a driver and the team are fully transparent and open and willing to listen to every argument: “I would never be afraid of working with a driver that's been in another structure for a long time or that is being perceived as difficult,” the Mercedes team boss makes clear. Wolff does not believe a driver can be such a difficult person that he cannot adapt to another team.

Even if a driver is headstrong or has a more ‘unconventional’ way of working, Wolff does not shy away. That’s why he thinks Verstappen would have fit in just fine within the Mercedes work environment: “When you listen to what people said about Lewis, probably the most difficult ones, or Alonso saying that he's difficult, that doesn't play a role in my mind. Because coming to the team, you work with each other, you shape each other for the best of the project.”