Toto Wolff drops massive Mercedes F1 driver line-up clue

F1 News & Gossip

Toto Wolff drops massive Mercedes F1 driver line-up clue

Wolff has been hunting Max Verstappen this summer

Chris Deeley

Monday 28 July 2025 12:06

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Toto Wolff appears to have all-but given up on stealing F1 champion Max Verstappen from Red Bull ahead of next year.

Rumours of Verstappen moving to Mercedes have been lighting up the paddock over the last month, with Christian Horner's Red Bull sacking only adding more fire to that flame.

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Talks have been taking place about a possible blockbuster driver move, but Mercedes chief Wolff appears to be gently pushing the brake pedal on the move in public as of this weekend.

The Austrian has now admitted that 'the largest of probabilities' is that his team's lineup stays as-is going into 2026, insisting that he wants Canadian Grand Prix winner George Russell to partner teenager Kimi Antonelli.

Wolff: Nothing is 100 per cent...but I want Kimi and George

He told Sky Sports last week: "There's the largest of probabilities, even if nothing is 100 per cent, that this is going to be the lineup for the next year.

"I want to stay with Kimi and and George as it stands. Everything else is not realistic. But obviously if have a you have a Russell/Verstappen lineup - that's Prost/Senna I guess, no?"

Wolff also joked about Horner's exit from Red Bull, claiming that the Brit will be back in the sport in some fashion and saying 'I need to be careful! He could be rocking up at the FA and then I am in the s***'.

Mercedes didn't have the best of times early in the Belgian Grand Prix weekend with those two existing drivers though, with Russell and Antonelli 12th and 17th respectively in Saturday's sprint race.

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Red Bull Max Verstappen Mercedes Christian Horner George Russell Toto Wolff