Toto Wolff admits Max Verstappen REGRETS after home meeting

Max Verstappen

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Wolff admits Verstappen REGRETS after home meeting

Wolff admitted he regrets not having the chance to have worked with the reigning champion

Dan McCarthy

Tuesday 13 June 2023 18:57

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Toto Wolff has admitted he had a meeting about potentially signing Max Verstappen when he was a junior driver, and that he has regrets a deal could not be agreed.

Verstappen is the current two-time champion and without question the most exciting driver on the grid right now, with he and Red Bull dominating the field.

He entered F1 in 2015 with Toro Rosso and was the youngest driver in F1 history aged just 17.

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Before then, he was regarded as a prodigious driver from his karting days and Wolff has admitted talks took place between his camp, including his father and former F1 driver Jos.

Hamilton and Verstappen: Team-mates in an alternate universe

"I spoke to Jos and Huub (Rothengatter, Verstappen's manager) when they came to my office in Brackley," Wolff told ESPN, "that must have been when Max was in karting or the end of his karting days, just before Formula 3.

"We spoke again when Max and Jos visited me in my house in Vienna. We spent a few hours discussing his future."

Verstappen not an option: Wolff

Verstappen was hot property back in 2013 when the meeting took place after some unprecedented success in karting.

At 15, he had won the European and World KF and KZ championships becoming the youngest driver in history to take the latter title.

Despite the meetings that took place, Verstappen did not sign for Mercedes as they did not have a junior driver programme at the time, and instead penned a contract with Red Bull.

Wolff says he wishes he could have worked with the Dutchman but no opportunity has since arisen.

"Do I regret missing out on Max? Certainly," he admits. "But it wasn't an option back in the day. We had two drivers that I was extremely happy with, in Nico and Lewis, and when Nico left, Valtteri was then the option and Max wasn't even available."