Toto Wolff’s ‘rival’ Max Verstappen recently declined his invitation to join Mercedes! The Red Bull racer has been a target for Wolff’s team ever since Lewis Hamilton announced his Silver Arrows departure. While the seven-time World Champion is about to join Ferrari next year, the Brackley outfit must find the best driver to fill his seat. Of course, who could have been the best replacement for Hamilton if not the reigning F1 Champion Max Verstappen? However, when an interviewer asked the Dutchman about his future plans, his blunt answer indicated it only revolved around Red Bull.

In February 2024, the F1 world came across the shocking news of Lewis Hamilton’s $100 million deal with Ferrari. The Briton will leave a 12-year-long relationship with Mercedes to join the Scuderia. Now, speculations claim that Toto Wolff was evidently upset at this news. Hence, he might want to reinforce Mercedes’ image by hiring the most suitable candidate out there – Max Verstappen.

However, the 26-year-old has called Red Bull home ever since 2016. And apparently, he is not ready to pull off a stunt like Hamilton that can sever his long-term connection to the Milton-Keynes outfit. When asked if he has any interest in switching teams for 2025, FIA’s reports mentioned Max Verstappen saying, “I have a long contract with the team. I’m very happy where I’m at. And as I said before, we are focusing also already on next year with things that we can implement on the car. So I guess that should say enough of where I’m driving next year.”

However, Verstappen’s determination to stay on at Red Bull spells misfortune for Toto Wolff. The Austrian billionaire does not want to peg Mercedes’ World Constructors’ Championship hopes on just any F1 driver. He wants the three-time Dutch World Champion, and when he became aware that Max Verstappen isn’t willing to leave Red Bull, Toto could hardly believe it. So how did the Silver Arrows boss react to Verstappen’s disregard for his proposal?

Toto Wolff maps out ways to get Max Verstappen to Mercedes

Rumors say Toto Wolff’s options to fill out Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes seat boil down to two picks – Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli. The latter is currently a Silver Arrows junior who has not even driven a Formula 1 test car yet. Thus, given his stellar record of winning 61 Grands Prix, the Dutchman is undoubtedly the better choice for Wolff over a 17-year-old rookie. Unfortunately, Max is not looking for a ship to jump to at the moment. Having won a World Championship hat-trick with Red Bull, perhaps he wishes to extend the streak further.

But the Mercedes boss is adamant about getting what (or in this case, who) he wants. Hearing that Verstappen is not looking for a move to another team, Toto Wolff said to Oe24, “I don’t think he clearly said yes [to staying at Red Bull in 2025]. But I wasn’t there. As I always say: We’ll keep our free seat free for as long as possible. First and foremost, we have to make our cars faster. If the car goes fast, fast drivers will want to drive with us.”

It seems as if Toto Wolff is keeping Hamilton’s seat warm for Max Verstappen. However, his team might currently not be attractive enough for the Dutch racer, leaving Kimi Antonelli as the only available choice if the rumors regarding Wolff’s selection are right. With Ferrari racer Carlos Sainz being free after the end of the Abu Dhabi GP this year, do you think the Mercedes boss will look to lure the Spaniard to his team? Let us know your views in the comments below.