Latest news with #Europe
Times
14 minutes ago
- Automotive
- Times
Toto Wolff confirms Mercedes have held talks with Max Verstappen
Toto Wolff has raised the possibility that Max Verstappen could join Mercedes next season by admitting publicly that he has held conversations with the four-times world champion. Privately, sources have been saying for months that Wolff has held conversations with Verstappen and his management team, but as recently as March Wolff said he was no longer 'flirting' with the Red Bull driver, having also considered signing him last season. Wolff disagreed with the notion that he had set Verstappen a deadline for joining Mercedes when he was asked in Friday's FIA press conference about the speculation, but admitted there had indeed been conversations. 'You make it sound like we have been asking, 'When do you want to join and what are the terms?' That's not how it is and how it works. I want to just have the conversations behind closed doors, not in town halls [publicly],' the Mercedes team principal said. 'We have two drivers that have been in our programme a long time, drivers that I'm perfectly happy to have, drivers that will do great in the future of the team. So it's a bit different [as] a situation.' Verstappen, 27, is under contract at Red Bull until 2028 but The Times has reported that he could leave early if an exit clause in his contract is activated, if he is not in the top three in the drivers' championship by a certain point of the season. It has been suggested that the cut-off point could be the summer break. At present he is in third place, 19 points ahead of George Russell, who in a strange coincidence happens to be the driver who would most likely lose out if Verstappen were to be available. Should Verstappen become a viable option, Wolff would have to choose between Russell, who is his more experienced, race-winning driver but who does not have a particularly good relationship with the Dutchman, or Kimi Antonelli, the precocious 18-year-old who is believed to be a driver of world championship-winning calibre. It is thought Antonelli may, eventually, have a higher ceiling. Wolff insists he has been 'transparent' with both drivers. Asked if it was feasible that Russell and Verstappen could become team-mates, given the pair's on-track clashes, including in Barcelona and Montreal, Wolff said: 'I can imagine every line-up. [I've had previous Mercedes drivers] Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton fighting for a world championship, so everything else afterwards is easy.' Russell has repeatedly admitted that it would be odd if Mercedes were not interested in Verstappen, but has privately said he feels confident in his contract situation. On Thursday he told Sky Sports: 'I have no concern about the future, but there's two seats to every team and I guess he [Wolff] needs to think who are those two drivers going to be for those two seats. I guess that's what the delay is.' Both Russell and Wolff have said there is no rush to sign the contract, a process that is usually completed before the latter part of the season. 'As team principal of the best car brand in the world, it's clear you explore what a four-times world champion will do in the future, and that could be long into the future. That has no effect on us putting a signature on George's contract,' Wolff added. It is thought that Mercedes will have a strong engine in 2026, under new regulations, while Red Bull are manufacturing their own power unit for the first time. This could play a factor in the longer-term future of Verstappen, although any such decision is likely to be influenced by the shape of the competitive landscape next year.
Daily Mail
16 minutes ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
Mercedes chief Toto Wolff refuses to rule out poaching Max Verstappen as a partner for fierce rival George Russell
Toto Wolff is trying to piece together the potentially explosive partnership of Max Verstappen and George Russell driving for Mercedes. If he pulled it off, Wolff would probably see it as a two-finger salute to his own paddock nemesis Christian Horner, boss of Verstappen's Red Bull team. And on Friday in Austria ahead of this weekend's race, Wolff publicly left open the possibility of a Verstappen-Russell pairing despite their collision in Spain earlier in the month, saying: 'I can imagine every line-up. I had Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton fighting for a world championship, so everything afterwards is easy.' Wolff could have ruled out poaching Verstappen but deliberately chose not to do so. He is keeping several plates spinning, one of which concerns Russell signing a contract extension at Mercedes beyond this year. If the Briton finally re-signs, and that seems likely despite a process curiously protracted, it would leave Wolff needing to relocate his protégé driver, 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli, to make space for Verstappen – for I am told it would be Antonelli, not Russell, who would go. True, Antonelli has impressed in his debut season and claimed his first podium in Canada a fortnight ago, but he has been dwarfed by Russell's achievements as the driver of the season – consistent, fast and pushing himself to the edge of the title frame, 62 points behind McLaren's Oscar Piastri. As for Mercedes' interest in Verstappen, it clearly continues. Russell said as much this week – 'ongoing' was his understanding of a courtship that started after last year's Red Bull scandal involving Horner, who was cleared by two internal inquiries of coercive behaviour towards a female employee. Verstappen's father Jos is particularly keen on the quadruple world champion leaving his existing team. Max is in less of a rush and may stick at Red Bull for another season to assess how next year's new regulations alter the pecking order. Wolff is stalling on Russell's new deal for reasons that are not obvious, though perhaps to keep him keen. But might the delay not undermine his star driver's confidence? 'Our sport is pressure, constant pressure,' countered Wolff. As Wolff knows, this race in Austria is a particularly sensitive one for his nemesis Horner. Red Bull's top brass are in the paddock, and wafting up uncertainty over the future of their star driver, and thus destabilising Horner, is another ingredient in the mix.
The Independent
16 minutes ago
- Automotive
- The Independent
Toto Wolff interested in signing Max Verstappen for Mercedes
Toto Wolff has signalled a surprising openness to a potentially explosive driver pairing, suggesting Max Verstappen could join George Russell at Mercedes. This comes as Russell, fresh from a victory in Canada, believes talks with the four-time world champion and Mercedes are ongoing. The British driver, who has been one of the grid's standout performers this season, indicated that the ongoing talks with Verstappen might be delaying the renewal of his own deal, which is set to expire in six months. The prospect of Verstappen and Russell as teammates is fraught with tension, given their fractious history. The pair engaged in a heated war of words following last December's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. More recently, Verstappen controversially accelerated into Russell's Mercedes during the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this month, a reckless manoeuvre that leaves the Dutchman just one penalty point away from a race ban for next weekend's British Grand Prix. Such a high-stakes partnership inevitably draws comparisons to the tumultuous relationship between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Their rivalry, while delivering three world championships for Mercedes, famously descended into chaos during their three years as teammates. But, when asked if Verstappen could be paired with Russell, Wolff said: 'I can imagine every line-up. I had Hamilton and Rosberg fighting for a world championship so everything afterwards is easy. 'There are pros and cons to having two drivers fighting each other hard. We have seen examples where they have functioned and others where they didn't.' Russell's Italian team-mate Kimi Antonelli, 18, has impressed in his rookie season. However, he is under contract for this season only, and has no guarantee of a seat with Mercedes beyond this year. He is 73 points behind Russell in the standings. Verstappen's contract at Red Bull runs until 2028, although performance clauses within his current deal could activate an early release. Pressed directly on whether he is in dialogue with Verstappen, Wolff replied: 'At the moment, clearly we need to explore what is happening in the future. 'That doesn't change what I think about George, or Kimi or the line-up that I am extremely happy with. I want to have conversations behind-closed-doors and not in town halls.' It had been suggested that Russell's Mercedes extension could coincide with his home race at Silverstone next weekend. However, it is understood that a fresh deal for Russell, who is 62 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri, is not imminent. And Wolff continued: 'When it comes to the contract situation, our sport is pressure, constant pressure, whether you are inside the car or outside the car, and you just need to cope with that. George knows that. 'I feel like when you are put into a comfort zone that is more detrimental to performance. 'He has always performed to the expectations we have set and he is continuing to do so. We have not given him a car to win the world championship, and that is on us. 'But in the times when the car has been good he is winning races, he is always there and you know he will extract what is in the car. 'He needs to be top of our list because he is a winner, a Mercedes junior, and he has been with us for a long time.'
Telegraph
16 minutes ago
- Automotive
- Telegraph
Toto Wolff admits Mercedes are in talks to sign Max Verstappen
Pressed on Russell's comments, Wolff said: 'We are going into territory I don't want to discuss here. People talk, people explore and, most importantly in our organisation, we are transparent. But it doesn't change a millimetre my opinion of George, his abilities or anything else. 'I like what George says and I am supportive of the driver. We are transparent in the team as to what we do and how we plan and we have been like that since I was in charge so that is not the issue. At the moment, clearly, we need to explore what is happening in the future. 'But it doesn't change what I think about George, or Kimi or the line-up that I am extremely happy with.' When asked whether he has held 'tentative talks' with Verstappen's representatives, however, he said: 'Yeah. You make it sound like we have been asking, 'When do you want to join and what are the terms?' That's not how it is and how it works. I want to just have the conversations behind closed doors, not town halls.' Verstappen break clause could be key to future Verstappen as good as told Telegraph Sport in May that he would stay at Red Bull for 2026, revealing he had 'told his team' that he would stay. But if the four-time champion has since lost confidence in the team ahead of next year's huge regulation changes, all bets are off. Verstappen is rumoured to have a performance clause in his contract, which could be triggered if he is not in the top three in the drivers' championship by the summer break. His father, former F1 driver Jos Verstappen, also has a strained relationship with Horner. Verstappen's own strained relationship with Russell is one possible fly in the ointment. The pair have clashed on many occasions. Verstappen has also traditionally had a defined No 2 next to him and would probably prefer to partner Antonelli. Asked whether he could imagine a Russell-Verstappen pairing, Wolff smiled. 'I can imagine every line-up,' he said. 'I had [Nico] Rosberg and [Lewis] Hamilton fighting for a world championship so everything afterwards is easy. There are pros and cons having two drivers fight each other hard and we have seen examples where they have functioned and others where they didn't.' Asked whether he was back to flirting with Verstappen again, and whether something had changed to make him do so, Wolff again smiled. 'No, nothing has changed, there is no flirting in that sense. It depends how you categorise that. You can flirt, or you can have conversations.'
BreakingNews.ie
17 minutes ago
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
McGrath defends Kallas over comments about Ireland
Ireland's EU Commissioner doesn't think the vice president of the Commission meant to offend anyone when she commented on neutrality last week. Kaja Kallas, the former prime minister of Estonia, said the country's policy lacked understanding of "atrocities, mass deportations, suppression of culture and language". Advertisement Sinn Féin MEP Kathleen Funchion has asked her to apologise for the comments. But Justice Commissioner Michael McGrath thinks what she said was over-interpreted. Mr McGrath said: "I know from my engagement with her that she has a deep affinity for Ireland, there was no malice whatsoever intended in her remarks. "She is a very knowledgeable, very intelligent, very respectful person. She was speaking freely in an open debate in the Parliament, which is something that should be encouraged."
