"We are not competitive enough to attract Max Verstappen" - Toto Wolff on Mercedes' chances of signing the 3x F1 champion

There has been a rise in rumors of Max Verstappen leaving Red Bull Racing to join Mercedes-AMG. However, Toto Wolff, the Team Principal of the German outfit, was not positive about the team's chances of signing the Formula 1 triple world champion.

Since the announcement of Lewis Hamilton's departure from the Silver Arrows at the end of the 2024 season, the driver market has been buzzing. While Mercedes faces the daunting challenge of finding a suitable replacement for the seven-time world champion, there have been speculations about the defending champion joining the Brackley-based F1 team.

Apart from Verstappen, Mercedes is also reportedly looking at Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the prodigy from Formula 3. However, Wolff has previously stated that he does not want to add more pressure on the young driver, who is currently in his first F2 season. Carlos Sainz Jr was also reportedly considered for the coveted seat.

Putting rest to the rumors of Verstappen making the move to Mercedes, Wolff claimed that Mercedes is not competitive enough for the reigning champion. He said (via FormulaPassion.it):

"Max will not get into a car that is not competitive and at the moment we are not competitive enough to attract a world champion. But we have to see how the next few months go."

However, the Austrian Team Principal was optimistic about the future and cited the example of McLaren's recent progress. He said:

"Look at McLaren. If we can gain four-tenths on the car, we will be very competitive. I need to wait for the right moment to select our driver. There is no urgency.”

While Mercedes is lacking the downright pace of its rivals like Red Bull, McLaren, and Ferrari, it has been slowly making progress regarding upgrades. After witnessing the performance gains on George Russell's W15 race car at Monaco, Andrew Shovlin, the Trackside Engineering Director at Mercedes, said in the post-race debrief:

"We have got some smaller updates (for Canada). We are certainly gonna have front wing too on both cars. So that's something that we have been working on and we'll make sure we can deliver that." (10:38 onwards)

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Here's a brief look at Max Verstappen's 2024 season with Red Bull Racing

Following a dominant 2023 season, Max Verstappen began the 2024 season with a bang. The defending world champion scored maximum points (26 points) in the season-opening Grand Prix at Bahrain in the RB20.

The Dutchman continued to dominate in the next four races, winning at Saudi Arabia, Japan, and China. Verstappen DNFed in Australia due to mechanical issues in the car. However, his dominance was soon challenged by McLaren's Lando Norris and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

At Miami, Norris became the first driver since last season to beat Verstappen on his merit. The young British driver carried the momentum to Emilia-Romagna but was not able to pass the triple-world champion at the end of lap 63.

The recently concluded Monaco Grand Prix was the first race in the last few years where Verstappen couldn't qualify and finish in the top five. Charles Leclerc finished atop the podium in his home race.