Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has vowed to learn from the \u201cmistake\u201d that was the Max Verstappen saga, which played out over the F1 2025 summer, forming a key part of the \u2018silly season\u2019 narrative.<\/p>\n
Adding that the \u201ccoincidence\u201d of he and Verstappen<\/a> ending up in the same spot in Sardinia \u201cdoesn\u2019t look good\u201d, Wolff said that being \u201copen and transparent\u201d is his policy, which sometimes comes back to \u201cbite\u201d him. But, with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli signed to new deals, Wolff insists that this driver line-up is the way forward for Mercedes.<\/p>\n Toto Wolff on Max Verstappen saga: \u2018Learn from the mistake\u2019<\/p>\n Talk of Verstappen to Mercedes returned over the past summer, after Russell suggested that \u201congoing\u201d discussions between both parties were influencing his path to a new deal.<\/p>\n It was not until the eve of the Hungarian Grand Prix that Verstappen officially re-affirmed his Red Bull commitment, with Wolff having confirmed exploration of Verstappen\u2019s situation.<\/p>\n When Verstappen was pictured onboard Wolff\u2019s yacht, as both enjoyed a holiday off the coast of Sardinia, naturally, inaccurate rumours began swirling about this meet-up being a chance to hold talks over a Mercedes move.<\/p>\n Wolff admitted that this \u201ccoincidence\u201d certainly did not help the situation, but with Russell and Antonelli signing new Mercedes deals ahead of the United States Grand Prix, the Mercedes boss now looks to act on lessons learned from the situation with Verstappen, and \u201cmove forward\u201d with the Russell and Antonelli pairing.<\/p>\n \u201cSo the truth is, you\u2019ve got to learn from the mistake,\u201d Wolff told Sky F1.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there wasn\u2019t any on purpose flirting. It\u2019s just a coincidence. It was clear that you need to have that conversation, and then we ended up in the same place in the summer, which obviously doesn\u2019t look good and is destabilising for everyone.<\/p>\n \u201cBut that\u2019s the past. Now, everything is cleared, contracts are signed, and we move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n During the team bosses\u2019 press conference in Austin, Wolff was asked how difficult it has been to balance his loyalty to Russell and Antonelli, versus carrying out his duty of getting Verstappen\u2019s thoughts on his future, as a decline in Red Bull\u2019s form sparked talk of the four-time World Champion looking elsewhere.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing open and transparent is the best path forward,\u201d said Wolff. \u201cSometimes it bites you a bit.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you look back, maybe certain events could have been better coincidences that happened.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I\u2019ve always done it in the most straightforward and fair way.\u201d<\/p>\n Wolff stressed that Russell and Antonelli is \u201cthe full focus\u201d, and was \u201calways the aim throughout also the more tricky part over the summer.\u201d<\/p>\n PlanetF1.com understands Russell\u2019s new contract to be a multi-year deal. But, that could potentially constitute a one-plus-one optional deal, an agreement covering multiple years, but which needs an option from either side to be triggered to activate.<\/p>\n Antonelli\u2019s new contract meanwhile is understood to cover 2026.<\/p>\n More on George Russell from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49\u00a0Where does Russell\u2019s reported salary rank after new Mercedes contract?<\/a><\/p>\n