Following the shock winter revelation, Wolff named reigning three-time world champion Max Verstappen as his “number one pick,” but highlighted that the Silver Arrows have plenty other options.
READ MORE: Wolff ‘would love’ to have Verstappen since there are no teams who ‘wouldn’t do handstands’ to sign him.
When asked about the decision ahead of him in an interview with Fox Sports Australia, Wolff said: “You know, as much as we were taken aback by Lewis’ decision so quickly, now I really want to take my time.”
“We have a space available, the only one in the top teams; however, if Max decides to leave, the slot will no longer be available to us. There are a few alternatives that are quite appealing to us, ranging from the very young super-talent to some of the older, more experienced ones.”
Wolff stated that a decision is anticipated “towards the summer,” emphasizing that “it will not happen in the next few weeks or months or so; I want to continue to monitor the market.”
When asked if Mercedes could go with a more youthful candidate, such as junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli, or an experienced pair of hands, Wolff went into greater detail.
“I don’t know yet,” he said, when asked if the decision will be based on George Russell’s performance throughout the season. “I guess it depends on what Max does.
“We have a little child that is really promising. I don’t want to put more pressure on him, but it appears that he has the potential to be one of the best. But we also don’t want him to drown by jumping so swiftly in an F1 car; he’s 17.
“We have a few alternatives for playing with him. Obviously, Fernando [Alonso] is really exciting, and Carlos [Sainz] is pretty good, so there are a few options.”
But when asked if signing Verstappen would be “poetic” and a “full circle” moment after missing out on the Dutchman in his younger days, Wolff replied, “Exactly. It’s the kind of relationship that has to happen at some point, but we don’t know when.”
When asked explicitly if Verstappen is his top pick, Wolff said, “Yes.” I mean, you can see his performance levels. But I wouldn’t want to overlook the other ones.
“We have to look at ourselves and say, ‘What can we do with this car?’ Then it will be much simpler for whoever drives the second car, and it will be much easier for George, who has the potential to be a world champion.
“It’s much more the team’s problem to solve [the current lack of performance] than really looking for a silver bullet with an amazing driver.”
Leave a Reply