F1 News: Wolff ‘will do everything’ to sign Verstappen – Marko (Update)

(GMM) Bombshell moves in the uncharacteristically tumultuous ‘silly season’ driver market early in 2024 might be far from over, according to former F1 driver Christian Danner.

With Lewis Hamilton stunning the Formula 1 world with his decision to terminate his Mercedes contract after this year to switch to Ferrari, the candidates to replace the seven time world champion are already mounting.

One of them is the current Mercedes reserve driver Mick Schumacher.

“There’s no chance for Mick at Mercedes,” Danner told Kolner Express newspaper. “That’s a different league.

“(Fernando) Alonso, though – they’d only have to call him and he’d be there. Mick would only come into play if Toto (Wolff) suddenly wanted a number 2 driver.

“But Mercedes has always had top drivers, except for Valtteri Bottas, who was more of a ‘1B’ driver. What is clear is that Toto Wolff will be strengthening (George) Russell – but he has to prove himself as a leader.”

Whether Russell can step up into Hamilton-like status at Mercedes, however, would be a total moot point if team boss Wolff got who he would really like – Max Verstappen.

Dr Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s top Austrian F1 consultant, doesn’t even deny it.

“That’s actually his job as team boss,” Marko told Osterreich newspaper. “He must do everything he can to get the best drivers.”

It is likely that Verstappen has a Hamilton-like exit clause in his own existing contract, but Marko thinks it’s very unlikely that the Dutchman might be tempted to jump ship.

“No. He has a good memory,” said the 80-year-old. “Too much has happened in the past. I remember Silverstone (2021) and the turmoil at the finale in Abu Dhabi. It runs too deep.”

Marko, however, recalls Wolff’s recent statement that he was so close to Hamilton that even a piece of paper couldn’t fit between them. “Apparently a Ferrari contract did,” he laughed.

So asked what he would do if Verstappen agreed to fill Hamilton’s shoes at Mercedes, Marko answered: “I would rule that out.”

But Danner thinks that if the financial offer from Wolff and the competitiveness of the Mercedes were right, “even Max” could be wooed from Red Bull.

“I know from 40 years in Formula 1 that anything is possible, always. I remember Jenson Button being happy to sign two contracts at the same time,” he laughed. “You can get out of any contract.

“And if the money and the car are right, all the trouble of the past is history.”

Danner said Red Bull’s current dominance is currently tenuous, especially amid the Christian Horner saga. “If Horner has to leave, Adrian Newey is also questionable as their contracts are linked,” he said.

“This is a huge problem for Red Bull, because success is always a consequence of stability. And when people like that break away, it throws everything into disarray.

“Even Verstappen would then be thinking about whether he is still at the right team.”

Danner also sees a fascinating season ahead for Ferrari, whose departing Carlos Sainz will be much less keen to play any team game in support of Charles Leclerc.

“He’ll be driving against Leclerc with extra wide elbows, wanting to build a reputation to be number 1 at Audi. It’s going to be a nice season,” said the German. “I’m looking forward to it.”

(GMM) Mercedes should make the boldest possible step after losing Lewis Hamilton for 2025 and try to woo Max Verstappen away from Red Bull.

That is the view of former F1 driver and respected pundit Christian Danner, after Toto Wolff refused to outright dismiss the possibility of looking into whether the Dutch triple world champion might be an option to fill the void.

“We will always strive to have the best possible driver combination,” Wolff said when explicitly asked about Verstappen, who is under contract to Red Bull through 2028.

“At the same time, of course we respect contracts that exist.”

The contracts of top drivers like Hamilton or Verstappen, however, almost always contain exit or buyout clauses – and it is true that driver salaries sit outside the strict Formula 1 team budget caps.

Danner told Germany’s Bild newspaper that Mercedes must therefore fully explore the Verstappen option.

“Every name has to be discussed. There must be no legal or monetary obstacles, and the same applies to contracts,” he said.

“Every driver who is at the Mercedes level has to be an issue. That’s why they also have to think about Max.”

He said Wolff should also be sniffing around the finer details of the contracts held by McLaren’s young star duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

“Max would of course be the best possible solution,” said Danner, “but Piastri and Norris would also both be top successors for Lewis. Both have everything they need to win multiple world championship titles – if they have the right car.

“After two years of crisis, Mercedes now has to prove that they can still do it.”

The good news for Mercedes, according to Danner, is that Hamilton’s teammate George Russell – who is already locked up for 2025 – is able to step into the Ferrari-bound seven time world champion’s shoes.

“Hamilton’s departure will of course hurt Mercedes,” he said, “but it could also be an opportunity.

“The lucky part for Wolff and his team is that they can now discuss who should be the successor for months.”

Wolff confirmed to Bild newspaper: “Lewis had the wellbeing of the team in mind when he announced his decision so early. This gives us planning security and allows us to explore the market.”

One name that keeps cropping up as an exciting possibility for Mercedes is the Wolff-managed Kimi Antonelli, who leaps straight into Formula 2 this year despite still only being 17.

“It may be too early for him,” said former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde, “but if he becomes Formula 2 champion this year and he has already shown that he really is a cannon of a driver, then you’d have Russell and Antonelli. How cool is that?”