Mercedes' 2027 F1 drivers? Toto Wolff spotted with Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli

Kimi Antonelli, Max Verstappen, generic, 2026, Miami GP — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Mercedes' 2027 F1 drivers? Toto Wolff spotted with Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli on boat

Max and Kimi for 2027?

Dan Ripley Global Editor

Professional F1 journalist and analyst

Friday 31 July 2026 13:09

Make us your Google favorite

The biggest saga in F1 right now is which team Max Verstappen will be driving for in 2027.

Almost as an anti-climax to the question, the smart money is leaning towards him going nowhere and sticking with Red Bull.

But for months now the options outside of the team he has driving at for over a decade rested with Mercedes and McLaren.

Article continues under video

The issue Verstappen has with both is drivers already being locked in. McLaren boss Zak Brown always admits the four-time champion would be the first driver he would sign, yet pleads loyalty to current drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Toto Wolff has a similar thing going on at Mercedes where Kimi Antonelli, as F1's golden boy, isn't going anywhere and George Russell as the team's other driver.

Russell being 'the other driver' is kind of the problem though, and he will tell you himself he has endured a horror season where high hopes of a title challenge are on the verge of ending just halfway through the campaign, with his team-mate 59 points clear at the top.

The British star has probably never been so unsettled at the team, and that includes having to go up against Lewis Hamilton.

F1 HEADLINES: Newey lifts lid on Alonso future as Aston Martin victory timeline proposed

Wolff and Verstappen meet up in Sardinia

If Russell does want to stay at Mercedes, his heart must have skipped a beat this week when his boss Toto Wolff was seen on a boat in Sardinia with Verstappen on Wednesday, and then again with Antonelli on Thursday.

Now whether Russell got a Sardinia invite now or in the future isn't the point here, it's the optics. Do you really expect Wolff and Verstappen to go on holiday and the topic of Mercedes to not come up at some point?

In fairness, this wasn't just all business. There was clearly luxury time being taken away from the fast-paced non-stop world of F1. It also took place on Verstappen's super yacht 'Unleash the Lion', with Wolff's wife Susie, as well as Max's girlfriend Kelly Piquet and their child Lily Verstappen-Piquet also onboard.

Pictures you can see by clicking here show Verstappen and Piquet in the water, along with the Wolffs on a speedboat, with all looking like enjoying their downtime.

When Wolff and Verstappen also enjoyed a Sardinia break together in 2025, Wolff also brought along his Soiree super yacht to join Verstappen's, and this could also be the case again.

George Russell is enduring a terrible season at Mercedes

Russell's Mercedes future

The pictures that have emerged from Antonelli's yacht meet up with Wolff show him on Wolff's yacht again with Susie Wolff present, and him getting into a small boat called a Williams. I'll let you write the jokes.

So Russell has reasons to be fearful of what's going on regarding Mercedes' future. Those fears could be compounded when Wolff admitted recently he wouldn't be scared to partner Verstappen with Antonelli.

Russell could of course be a Mercedes driver in 2027, but his best case scenario is that while he has the seat, Max Verstappen will never be far away if Wolff wants an alternative driver.

Written by

Dan Ripley - Global Editor

I've been a massive F1 fan since the mid 1990s and continue to study the history of the sport long before that. As an experienced motor sport reporter covering F1, MotoGP and the LeMans 24 Hour race, being part of GPFans has allowed me to work with a diverse team with all sorts of different backgrounds in watching the sport and given me a greater appreciation of F1.

View full biography

F1 Max Verstappen Mercedes Toto Wolff Kimi Antonelli