Toto Wolff says he would “love” to have Max Verstappen at Mercedes in the future after the Red Bull driver admitted he would leave the team if something “crazy” happened.

Ongoing scrutiny on Red Bull following the conclusion of the investigation into Christian Horner, which resulted in allegations of inappropriate behaviour made against the team principal by a female colleague being dismissed, has led to questions around Verstappen’s future.

The three-time world champion told Sky Sports F1 on Friday his future depends on Helmut Marko staying at the team but the 80-year-old insists he will remain in his role as motorsport advisor after holding talks with Red Bull GmbH managing director Oliver Mintzlaff on Saturday.

Lewis Hamilton’s departure to Ferrari for 2025 leaves a seat open at Mercedes and Wolff is open to having Verstappen at his team, despite the recent rivalry between Red Bull and Mercedes.

“I would love to have him (Verstappen). But first we need to sort out our car. We owe it to our drivers George and Lewis to improve the car and give them equipment that is good before dreaming about the future next year,” said Wolff.

“I think we are going to wait on a decision. We have a few interesting options. The more we are able to assess how the season pans out, young drivers, slightly older ones, that’s not going to be a decision we want to take in the next few weeks, it’s rather a few months depending on where it goes.”

Asked if Verstappen is number one on Mercedes’ list to replace Hamilton, Wolff added: “This is a decision that Max needs to take and there is no team up and down the grid that wouldn’t do handstands to have him in the car.”

Wolff: Verstappen will want to be in fastest car

In Bahrain, at the start of March, his father Jos Verstappen claimed Red Bull are “in danger of being torn apart” if Horner remained as team principal.

Horner said he was “certain” Verstappen would remain with the team until the end of his deal, after agreeing “to move on” following the public dispute with the world champion’s father, Jos, ahead of the Saudi Arabian GP.

Wolff thinks Max Verstappen will make up his own mind on what his future is rather than his manager Raymond Vermeulen or father Jos Verstappen.

“A driver will always try to be in the fastest car that gives you the best chances of winning races and championships. That’s where Max is at the moment,” said Wolff.

“But Max, Jos and Raymond (Vermeulen) are people that are very straight, sometimes uncomfortably straight. That’s something…they will make up their mind but fundamentally a racing driver is calibrated to be in the best car.”

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