Toto Wolff makes Max Verstappen ‘respect’ claim as he rules out Mercedes move

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Toto Wolff has ruled out a move to sign Max Verstappen for the 2027 F1 season and calls any reports of interest in the Red Bull driver “silly”, especially given it is March.

The Silver Arrows have held a long-standing interest in Verstappen, whom Wolff had wanted to sign even before his F1 debut. But Red Bull beat Mercedes to the punch and have thus far retained the 28-year-old, despite Wolff publicly admitting to speaking with his agent before.

Wolff confirmed that he spoke with Verstappen’s manager in 2025 to sound out any interest from the four-time F1 champion in leaving Red Bull for Mercedes from the 2026 regulations era. But Verstappen did not meet the conditions for his release clause, so stayed at Red Bull.

Now, however, the chances that Verstappen will enjoy the right to leave Red Bull after 2026, despite having a contract through 2028, are growing. While Verstappen had to be fourth or lower in the F1 drivers’ standings last summer to leave, he only has to be third this summer.

Would Max Verstappen be complaining about F1’s 2026 regulations if he had joined Mercedes?

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Toto Wolff has the ‘utmost respect’ but is not interested in signing Max Verstappen

So, as Red Bull are enduring a tough start to the 2026 F1 season and Mercedes enjoying the perfect start to the new regulatory era, it has been suggested that Wolff could be interested in replacing either of George Russell or Andrea Kimi Antonelli with Verstappen in 2027 now.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

But while Red Bull’s tough start to 2026 may see Verstappen consider joining Mercedes next year, Wolff has ruled out any interest in replacing Russell or Antonelli. Wolff has the “utmost respect” for Verstappen, but sees no reason to consider changing the Silver Arrows’ drivers.

Wolff told OE24: “The astonishing thing is that these silly rumours are already surfacing in March. It’s silly enough that you normally have to discuss these things in July. I don’t know who brought this up again.

“We have two drivers with whom we have long-term, multi-year contracts. I could not be happier with either of them. Both are delivering top performances.

“So, there is absolutely no reason to even consider a line-up change, or other drivers. I say this with the utmost respect for Max.”

Kimi Antonelli’s win in Shanghai makes him the second youngest Grand Prix winner in F1 history. Will Max Verstappen’s record ever be broken?!

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It has recently emerged that Antonelli’s Mercedes contract runs through 2029, after signing new terms with the Brackley outfit in October that the team confirmed as a multi-year deal. Russell also agreed to a new contract last October, but his is only a one-plus-one-year deal.

On current form, Russell would be expected to trigger the unspecified performance clauses in his contract to remain at Mercedes for 2027. The 28-year-old leads Antonelli atop the F1 drivers’ standings after two rounds after his Australian Grand Prix and Shanghai Sprint wins.

Russell also scored pole for the Australian GP and Shanghai Sprint, while also qualifying and finishing second in the Chinese Grand Prix as Antonelli took his first career win. In contrast, Verstappen trails Russell by 43 points after only scoring eight so far for P8 in the standings.