MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Mercedes team principal and chief executive Toto Wolff has denied rumors on the eve of the Australian Grand Prix weekend that he's still seeking to sign reigning F1 world champion Max Verstappen for 2026.
Mercedes, which has a new driver lineup this year that sees rookie prospect Andrea Kimi Antonelli join George Russell, is hoping to emerge from its recent lean spell in F1 that has seen it score just five wins from the last three seasons, four of which came in 2024.
But while Verstappen was reportedly on Mercedes' shopping list last year as a top-gun replacement for its then-outgoing star Lewis Hamilton, Silver Arrows' team boss Wolff says extending Russell's contract beyond 2025 is the priority.
“I think we’ve said it pretty clearly last year, and (Verstappen) said the same, we need to concentrate on our driver line-up, we need to do (the best with) that we have," Wolff said Thursday in Melbourne.
“I don’t flirt outside if I’m in a good relationship, and that is true for this year, too. So, at the moment that is not on any, let’s say, radar and I don’t plan to shift my concentration away from these guys and make sure that George has a contract (extension) pretty soon and we agree on the final things.”
Plenty of decisions to come
Wolff's future driver lineup came into focus this week after McLaren extended its deal with Australian Oscar Piastri, which puts him out of reach during the sport's next big expected grid shuffle in 2027.
“We have had a chat (with Russell) a few weeks ago about what the right timing would be to liaise, and I’m — naively or not — someone that sticks to what he says,” Wolff said.
“These three (including reserve driver Valtteri Bottas) are the combination that I want to go forward with Mercedes, and I have no reasons to doubt that. We’re going to find some time, I guess, before the summer.”
Russell, a long-time Mercedes protégé who joined the works team in 2022 fresh from three years at Williams, is keen to stay in silver.
“We’ve had such a long-term relationship, and there’s so much trust,” Russell said. “We are focused on getting Mercedes back on top and trying to win races, and championships, and to be honest in this sport, the performance speaks.”
Hamilton: 'most exciting period of my life'
Hamilton made it clear in Melbourne that he’s moved on, following his record-breaking stint with Mercedes, with the seven-time F1 world champion enjoying life at Ferrari as he prepares for his maiden start with the Scuderia.
Hamilton, who’d been powered by Mercedes for his entire F1 career from 2007 to 2024, made a shock switch to Ferrari starting this year, following negotiations with Mercedes in 2023 that saw him offered a shorter tenure to future proof the operation.
Hamilton signed the one-plus-one (option year) deal in August 2023, but made a swift u-turn in January last year to join the Prancing Horse from 2025.
And the veteran Brit has been enjoying every moment spent at Maranello.
“You’re looking at things from a different perspective, and that makes it exciting and challenging,” Hamilton said Thursday. “This is definitely the most exciting period of my life. I’m really enjoying it, and I’m so excited to get in the car tomorrow.”
Hamilton is also working like he’s a rookie again, this time at age 40 — and with a record 105 wins and 104 pole positions.
“I’m back at kind of square one,” Hamilton said. “I’m really just putting all the time I have in. I’ve been at the factory, like four days a week. I’ve been given absolutely everything to training, to push my mind and my body further than I have before, trying to see if I can excel, and just squeeze more juice out of this."
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