Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff leaves door open for Max Verstappen signing

Toto Wolff, Max Verstappen, George Russell — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff leaves door open for Max Verstappen signing

The F1 saga that will never die!

Chris Deeley

Wednesday 27 May 2026 20:27

Toto Wolff has, once again, left the door open for Max Verstappen to join Mercedes in the not-too distant future.

Four-time world champion Verstappen has made it clear that he's unhappy with the direction of the sport after regulation changes introduced in 2026, putting his future in doubt.

However, links with Mercedes stretch back further than that – with last summer dominated by talk that the Dutchman could slip out of his Red Bull contract and replace a driver (presumably George Russell) in Wolff's team.

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Nothing came of that, but the link between the two parties has been established, and Wolff has continued to keep the door open for a stunning move.

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Speaking to Sport Bild, the Austrian team boss insisted as ever that the Silver Arrows are 'happy with the drivers who are driving for us', but once again rowed that back slightly when Verstappen's situation was raised.

Much like last summer, reports have surfaced about a break clause in Verstappen's contract – which runs through the 2028 season – allowing him to jump ship if Red Bull continue their underperformance.

The team currently sit fourth in the constructors' standings after five races, closer to Alpine in fifth than McLaren in third, and Verstappen himself is languishing in seventh in the drivers' championship.

"There is currently no reason to change anything about our lineup," Wolff told the German newspaper, before adding: "You should never rule anything out, and everyone knows how highly I rate Max."

On an entirely unrelated note, I wrote in a post on the GPFans Substack (subscribe!) in September last year: "If I have to write about Max Verstappen’s future at Red Bull at any point in the next 12 months, I will start an astonishingly damning and equally astonishingly untrue rumour about one of my bosses. There will be no warning. Never make me do this again. Max Verstappen is a Red Bull driver until further notice."

Probably doesn't matter. Probably fine.

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F1 Max Verstappen Mercedes Toto Wolff