TOTO’S GOING DUTCH
Merc chief wants Verstappen
MERCEDES team principal Toto Wolff has admitted that Red Bull driver Max Verstappen is his No.1 target to replace Lewis Hamilton.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton, 39, will leave Mercedes for Ferrari at the end of this season.
The Silver Arrows have a number of options, but Wolff admits Verstappen (above) is their dream replacement.
Wolff has already made it clear that, should Verstappen follow through on his threat to quit Red Bull if mentor Helmut Marko leaves, the Dutchman, 26, will be his top target.
“It’s the kind of relationship that needs to happen at a certain stage,” said Wolff. “But we don’t know when.”
Asked directly if Verstappen was his No.1 pick to take Hamilton’s seat, the Austrian (below) said: “Yes, I mean, you see what his performance levels are. But I wouldn’t want to discount the other ones too. We’ve got to look at ourselves and ask what is it we can do with this car.
“Then it becomes much easier, whoever drives the second car, it’s become much easier for George Russell because he has the potential of being a world champion and so much more.
It’s the team’s problem to solve really, rather than looking for a silver bullet with an amazing driver.
“It depends also on what Max does. Then we have a young kid (Italian Kimi Antonelli) that is very promising and I don’t want to put more extra pressure on him, but it looks like he can be one of the great ones.
“But we also don’t want to drown him by jumping so quickly in an F1 car at 17. So there are a few options that we play with him.
“There’s Fernando Alonso, who is very exciting, and Carlos Sainz is very good. So there are a few ones.
“I’m gonna make the play like a bride – difficult to get.”
Alonso, 42, has made it clear he wants to sit down with his current Aston Martin team in the hopes of thrashing out a new deal.
But he has also hinted that he would be willing to look elsewhere if an agreement cannot be reached.
Sainz, 29, is definitely in need of a new seat next year, given Hamilton’s arrival at Ferrari will come at his expense. But the Spaniard’s victory in Australia on Sunday has done his chances of landing a top seat no harm at all.