Mercedes would love to have Verstappen – Wolff

Toto Wolff said that Mercedes would “love to have” Max Verstappen next season but admitted his team need to improve their car first.

Verstappen’s future is a subject for debate because of the controversy within Red Bull following allegations made about team boss Christian Horner.

Wolff said: “A driver will always try to be in the fastest possible car.

“This is where Max is at the moment. I would love to have him but first we need to sort out our car.”

Verstappen, who dominated the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, was drawn into a debate over the future of Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko over the race weekend, amid a power struggle at Red Bull.

Verstappen is under contract to Red Bull until 2028 but BBC Sport has been told Verstappen’s management have had talks with Mercedes in case the situation at Red Bull worsens.

Mercedes have a spare seat alongside George Russell following Lewis Hamilton’s decision to move to Ferrari for 2025.

Wolff said Verstappen, his father Jos and manager Raymond Vermeulen were “very straight – sometimes uncomfortably straight”, adding: “That is something they will make up their minds (about), but fundamentally a racing driver is calibrated to be in the best car.

“This is a decision Max needs to take and there is no team up and down the grid who wouldn’t do handstands to have him in the car.”

Horner said: “I can’t see any reason why anybody would want to step out of this team. He has great support around him and he is doing a wonderful job with a great car.

“No individual is bigger than the team. We have a phenomenal car. We have one seat open for next year. I have 16 drivers desperate to be in that car. Checo (Sergio Perez) is in pole position, it is his seat to lose. We have a strong relationship with Max, he is doing a wonderful job and our focus is on track.

“We listen to whatever Max has to say but the team will always make the right decisions for the team.”

Wolff said after the Saudi race, in which Russell and Hamilton finished sixth and ninth respectively, that the team were perplexed by their lack of performance.

The car was uncompetitive in high-speed corners and Wolff said: “There is something which we don’t understand.

“It’s a more fundamental thing which we believe that the speed should be there. We measure the downforce but we don’t find it on the lap time.

“The thing is, it’s been two and a half years that we are chasing this fundamental. It’s been two years that there is something that we need to spot and that’s the thing to unlock.

“It is not by lack of trying. We pushed so hard and we are going to give it a massive go now in the next week with more data to understand and come back to (the next race in) Melbourne stronger.

“We are on mission on this one and I am 100% sure we are going to unlock this performance gap.”