Toto Wolff’s flirting with Max Verstappen for the vacant Mercedes seat might stop soon because of two reasons. Firstly, Red Bull team advisor Helmut Marko has amended and extended his contract till 2026, nullifying the exit clause that allowed Verstappen to leave the team if he did. Secondly, the 3-time champion’s ugly side was reborn at the Hungarian GP, putting off a lot of viewers. Though there is another exit clause in Verstappen’s contract that can be exercised, it’s the second reason that’ll keep Wolff away.

The Dutchman’s current contract runs till 2028, but Wolff wouldn’t have to wait so long. Ahead of the season opener in Bahrain, Helmut Marko revealed a performance clause that allows Verstappen to leave if Red Bull doesn’t meet certain standards. “As in every Formula 1 contract, there are clauses if certain success quality criteria are not met. These are also included in Max’s contract,” the 81-year-old told ServusTV, adding, “If we are not in a position to provide him with a car that is capable of winning…of course, he’s interested in success as a racing driver. You don’t get any younger.” 

Judging by McLaren and Mercedes‘ sudden rise to the top, Verstappen could indeed look at his options for 2025. Moreover, they no longer have Adrian Newey to help steer this wobbly ship in such turbulent waters, and Toto Wolff won’t stop working behind the scenes to get the transfer done. At the Hungarian GP, Red Bull’s pit wall also made blunders with strategy, infuriating their star driver. In addition to battling his “really bad” RB20, he also blamed the team for “completely **** his race”.

Red Bull has been spot-on with their strategies in nearly every race over the past year. So Verstappen losing his calm so easily at the first instance of his team’s slip-up damaged his reputation. The Dutchman didn’t even hesitate to give Red Bull a dressing down in the post-race interviews. Though they took it on the chin, Mercedes doesn’t operate the same way. Their 7-time champion Lewis Hamilton has never lashed out so harshly (before this year, of course, with the exit tension building).

Verstappen has a 76-point lead in the drivers’ championship after the Hungarian GP. Unless Red Bull nosedives into mediocrity, the performance clause will remain untouched. Mercedes’ other choices are 17-year-old F2 prodigy Andrea Kimi Antonelli and departing Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz. But surprisingly, the young Italian has ruled himself out of contention for an F1 promotion.

Kimi Antonelli alerts Toto Wolff with ‘not ready for F1’ remark

Antonelli was Wolff’s top choice for the Lewis Hamilton-created vacancy at Mercedes for 2025. However, many analysts warned the Austrian against forcing this premature promotion. However, the 17-year-old has turned the talk around in the matter of two race weekends. He won the British GP F2 Sprint race under volatile weather conditions. Doing himself one better, Antonelli finally secured his maiden F2 victory in Hungary, proving his worth to fill the shoes of a 7-time F1 champion when the time comes.

Though these victories came as ‘big reliefs’, the Italian isn’t confident yet to take on the F1 challenge. “I mean… I don’t know if I will be ready (for F1), to be honest,” he said in a post-race interview at the Hungaroring, continuing, “I’m still learning a lot in F2. Definitely, I still do quite a few mistakes. A few details that really matter, I’m still not doing that right.”

Unless more F2 podiums and victories turn Antonelli’s mind around, Wolff might look at Carlos Sainz for a one-year stopgap solution for 2025. Maybe this is why he re-inducted the Ferrari driver in his prospect list ahead of the British GP. But if chooses to wait for the Verstappen option, Mercedes’ James Allison-led technical team needs to buckle up. An unexpected challenge of satisfying a 3-time champion’s wants will await them.

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