Formula 1 United States GP
Toto Wolff insists Max Verstappen flirt was “just a coincidence”
Wolff insists he didn’t flirt with Verstappen on purpose when it came to Mercedes’ 2026 driver line-up
Ben Vinel
Edited: Oct 18, 2025, 2:10 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Toto Wolff, Mercedes
Photo by: Lillian Suwanrumpha / AFP via Getty Images
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff believes he handled the 2026 Formula 1 driver market “in the most straightforward and fair way”.
That’s despite Wolff wooing four-time world champion Max Verstappen until it emerged that the Red Bull driver would be unable to activate a performance clause to exit his Red Bull contract early; the speculation cast doubt on incumbents George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s short-term future.
Mercedes eventually made an unchanged line-up official on Wednesday ahead of the 2026 season.
Read Also:
Wolff told Sky Sports F1 on Friday that he was going to learn from what he called a “mistake”, insisting “there wasn’t any on-purpose flirting” and claiming this was “just a coincidence”, while admitting the uncertainty over the driver line-up ended up being “destabilising for everyone”.
Subsequently asked by Motorsport.com in the Friday press conference if he had experienced any conflicting moments when negotiating 2026 deals, given he called it his ‘responsibility’ to find out where Verstappen’s future lay, Wolff said more confidently: “Being open and transparent is the best path forward. Sometimes it bites you a bit. And when you look back, maybe certain events could have been better – coincidences that happened. But I’ve always done it in the most straightforward and fair way.
“I stand by the driver choices – by George and Kimi. Like I said, this is the full focus, and that was always the aim, throughout the more tricky part over the summer.”
Even after Verstappen was ruled out of the driver market, it took two and a half months for Mercedes to finalise its 2026 contracts, with Russell’s contractual PR appearances allegedly the main issue.
George Russell, Mercedes, Toto Wolff, Mercedes
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
With hindsight, Wolff insisted this line-up was a “no-brainer” and there was “never” any doubt rookie Antonelli was going to make progress.
“It was always the decision that we took from the get-go,” the Austrian said. “It was the lineup that we chose last year. We knew that George can hold up the leadership role in there. It’s been really great, and Kimi is in a learning year. So going forward, it was pretty much a no-brainer.
“When you look at [Antonelli’s] junior record, his personality, there's no doubt in me or within the team that it was the wrong decision to take and give him the opportunity.”
Antonelli finished the last two grands prix in the top five after a tough European spell in what Wolff still calls “a learning season”. The Mercedes team boss reckons the 19-year-old Italian will gain competitiveness in his sophomore campaign as F1 moves on to brand-new cars in 2026.
“You have five or six races to go – tracks that he doesn't know,” Wolff pointed out. “Austin is one of them. I'm sure we're going to see some very good results. We're going to see trickier sessions and trickier weekends.
Read Also:
“But all of that is being reset with the start of next season. He will have seen the tracks. The cars are new for every driver – that’s a big factor. These guys have been around these cars for a while, and he will have seen how to best manage pressure from the media and all of the stakeholders. That was the aim for this season – to do exactly that.”
Additional reporting by Ronald Vording
Photos from United States GP - Practice & Sprint Qualifying
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
United States GP - Friday, in photos
Formula 1
68
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article The ride-height approach behind Nico Hulkenberg's excellent US GP sprint qualifying
Next article Going live: how F1 TV became a billion-dollar business
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Ben Vinel
Toto Wolff reflects on Mercedes’ non-title years: ‘We weren’t complete losers’
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
20 h
Toto Wolff reflects on Mercedes’ non-title years: ‘We weren’t complete losers’
Max Verstappen explains why he’s so good in the rain in Brazil
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
2 d
Max Verstappen explains why he’s so good in the rain in Brazil
More from
Max Verstappen
F1 driver contracts: How long is each driver tied down for?
Formula 1
Formula 1 4 h
F1 driver contracts: How long is each driver tied down for?
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
1 d
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
More from
Mercedes
The Kimi Antonelli you don't know: Inside the Mercedes garage with F1's new world champion
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
3 h
The Kimi Antonelli you don't know: Inside the Mercedes garage with F1's new world champion
Mercedes explains "unusual" car behaviour behind Kimi Antonelli's costly Interlagos spin
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
1 d
Mercedes explains "unusual" car behaviour behind Kimi Antonelli's costly Interlagos spin
Latest news
Sebastien Bourdais hopes latest WEC success will remind teams of his value
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
27 min
Sebastien Bourdais hopes latest WEC success will remind teams of his value
"It's horribly painful" - Williams drops 2026 car upgrades to benefit 2027
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
1 h
"It's horribly painful" - Williams drops 2026 car upgrades to benefit 2027
Iker Lecuona felt significant differences between Ducati's GP25 and GP26
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
2 h
Iker Lecuona felt significant differences between Ducati's GP25 and GP26
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe