Max Verstappen in Mercedes love triangle as Red Bull exit fears swirl

Toto Wolff is a man at the centre of a love triangle - between two warring parties nonetheless - after the Austrian Grand Prix ignited the possibility of a Red Bull exit for Max Verstappen.

The media can make much out of sporting rivalries, but the drama between Verstappen and George Russell has highlighted a clearly strained relationship between the pair.

F1 HEADLINES: Verstappen exit clause 'active' as Red Bull make official driver announcement ahead of British GP

From their tense exchanges at the 2024 Qatar GP, to their on track mayhem in Spain, Russell and Verstappen will never enjoy harmony with their next incident a matter of when not if.

This is why they can never be team-mates, and why Wolff has an almighty headache to sort out as rumours continue to swirl heading to this weekend's British GP.

Wolff confirmed conversations had been held with Verstappen in Austria, despite claiming earlier in the year he was not going to flirt with the idea of signing the champion.

Speaking to the media at the Austrian GP, Wolff responded to this contradiction and said: "Define flirting. No, nothing's changed. There is no ‘flirt’ in that sense. Depends how you act. You can flirt, or you have conversations."

Who should Wolff sign at Mercedes?

Initially, it was Russell who confirmed that Mercedes had engaged in discussions with Verstappen, on which Wolff was further questioned and provided a cryptic response on the details of these conversations.

"Whether I like it or not, I like what George says, and I'm always supportive of the driver," Wolff said.

"There's no such thing as saying things I wouldn't want him to say. I think we are very transparent in the team for what we do, what we plan, and we've been like that since I was put in charge. So that's not the issue.

"At the moment, clearly, you need to explore what's happening in the future, but it doesn't change anything of what I said before about George or about Kimi, about the line-up that I'm extremely happy to have."

Wolff also refused to reveal the details of Mercedes' talks with Verstappen, and added: "Well, you make it sound like we have been asking when do you want to join and here are the terms.

"That's not how it is and how it works. I come back to my previous answer. I just want to have the conversations behind closed doors, not town halls.

"We have two drivers that have been in our program since a long time, drivers that I'm perfectly happy to have, drivers that will do great in the future of the team. So it's a bit different, the situation."

There will come a period where Wolff will have to choose between Verstappen and Russell, particularly if Mercedes are competitive in 2026.

Whether he decides to opt for loyalty and reliability or the allure of a four-time world champion, the conundrum itself speaks of how desirable Mercedes are as a team and the confidence that they will get these next set of regulations right.

READ MORE: Ferrari summon Lewis Hamilton to London ahead of British Grand Prix

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