Wolff's 'intense' role in Verstappen switch unearthed

Toto Wolff reportedly did 'all he could' to convince Max Verstappen to sign for Mercedes, as the intensity of their discussions have been revealed by a former Red Bull driver.

George Russell whipped up a media frenzy at the Austrian Grand Prix in June, where he confirmed that Mercedes entered talks with Verstappen over a 2026 deal.

However, speaking ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix earlier this month, the 27-year-old confirmed he would remain at Red Bull, thus putting an end to any exit rumours for the time being, at least.

While Wolff made no secret that he was keen to secure Verstappen's signature, a former Red Bull star has revealed just how intense these discussions became.

Robert Doornbos - who partnered David Coulthard at Red Bull for a short spell in 2006 - has admitted that announcement left him stunned and just how close Verstappen was to signing with Mercedes.

"I've been working as an analyst on television sports for a while now, almost 12 years now," Doornbos said on the Pit Talk podcast.

"And as an analyst, you can't always throw a six. I was indeed absolutely convinced this [moving to Mercedes] was going to happen.

"The intensity of those discussions was certainly quite high, because otherwise it would have been quite easy for Mercedes to announce both drivers [for next season].

"Let me put it this way: Toto did everything he could to see if Max could switch.

"Despite Max saying, 'For me, it wasn't a discussion, I'll stay here forever,' management was of course working hard to explore other options."

READ MORE: F1 champion Max Verstappen reveals unfulfilled racing dream

Can Red Bull and Verstappen turn their performances around?

With Verstappen's future settled, the reigning drivers' champion can now focus all of his attention on getting his ailing title bid back on track.

He is fast running out of time to pull that off, with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris both holding a commanding lead in the standings with just 10 races to go.

Verstappen - who is currently enjoying his summer break with his family - occupies third spot in the championship, and will need to rely on a huge collapse from both McLaren drivers if he is to have any hope of being in contention come the business end of the campaign.

It promises to be an intriguing period for both Verstappen and Red Bull, with the squad still adjusting to life under new team principal Laurent Mekies following the sacking of Christian Horner.

There also remains significant doubt over who will line up alongside Verstappen in 2026, with Yuki Tsunoda enduring all sorts of struggles since being promoted from sister team Racing Bulls earlier this year.

READ MORE: Axed F1 chief Guenther Steiner 'set' for multi-million dollar team purchase

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