Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has ended speculation that Max Verstappen could join for the 2027 Formula 1 campaign by confirming his desire to retain George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.
Verstappen potentially joining the Silver Arrows was a hot topic last year due to the various exit clauses in the four-time world champion’s Red Bull contract, which expires in 2028.
But when they were no longer valid, the Dutchman publicly committed to Red Bull for 2026 with Russell and Antonelli both being retained at Mercedes. However, background speculation continued.
Yet after a dominant start to the 2026 regulation switch, with Antonelli leading the standings and Russell in third, Wolff sees no reason for change leaving Verstappen's future up in the air.
“We don’t want to change things,” said Wolff, when asked by Sky Sports about the Mercedes 2027 line-up. “We’ve said that also to George, I think it’s a line-up that is good for us. I’m very happy with the two of them.”
Those comments came at the Austrian Grand Prix, just days after Russell confirmed he’ll “100%” be racing at Mercedes next year, considering he was the one largely at risk for 2026.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Mark Thompson / Getty Images
That was despite the 28-year-old consistently outperforming his rookie team-mate in 2025, but the potential in teenager Antonelli was always clear and that is coming to fruition this season.
The rapid 19-year-old has won five of seven grands prix to establish a 50-point lead over pre-season title favourite Russell, who at Monaco in June was left bemused by his pace deficit.
But Wolff is confident his veteran driver will bounce back in the title fight, having spoken just minutes after Russell topped final practice in Austria while Antonelli was fastest in FP1 and FP2.
“He’s coping well,” added Wolff. “You can see the last one and a half days was difficult and then at the end now he was quickest.
“You're talking about fine margins and I think it's about, keep yourself in the confidence zone, trust in your driving, trust in the decisions that you're making with your mechanics in terms of set-ups and then often it's just that simple, just drive.
“He doesn't need to prove to anyone that he has the speed we know he has and the ability.”
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Originally published by motorsport.com —
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