Toto Wolff speaks out on Max Verstappen taking....

Toto Wolff, the boss of Mercedes, has shared his thoughts on rumours that Max Verstappen might leave Red Bull to fill Lewis Hamilton’s spot at Mercedes.

He thinks there’s not much reason for Verstappen to leave Red Bull, but he’s not closing the door on a possible move. Wolff is faced with the huge job of finding someone to take over from Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. The seven-time world champion is leaving at the end of the season to join Ferrari.

Some people think that the Brackley-based team already have drivers like Verstappen and Fernando Alonson in mind to replace Hamilton. Verstappen, who races for Red Bull and comes from the Netherlands, currently has a contract until 2028.

But, Verstappen’s future with Red Bull has been talked about a lot more because of the controversy around Christian Horner. Horner, who is the team principal, was cleared of claims that he behaved badly towards a woman he works with.

But then, some private messages and photos that are said to be from Horner were leaked, reports the Mirror. Because of this, Verstappen’s dad, Jos, has said that Horner should leave. The two of them were seen having a serious talk in Bahrain.

Verstappen’s dad has said that Red Bull will be ruined by Horner being there. In the middle of all this, Verstappen won the first grand prix of the 2024 season easily. With Red Bull doing so well, Wolff doesn’t think the 26 year old will leave anytime soon.

He said: “The market is very interesting. For a driver, the most important thing is to be with whoever is fastest, and there is no reason now for Max to leave Red Bull anytime soon. But we’ll see what happens.”

Last year, Hamilton did better than Russell in the large races, but Russell scored more points in his first year at Mercedes. Russell started this season strong, coming in fifth in Bahrain, while Hamilton was two spots back as Red Bull and Ferrari took the lead.

Russell believes he can take on anyone who comes to race at Mercedes. He said: “This is my third season alongside Lewis, the greatest driver of all time. I feel I’ve done a pretty good job alongside him.”

“So whoever were to line up alongside me next year or the years to come I welcome the challenge. I focus on me and I believe I’m good enough to beat anyone on the grid.”