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Toto Wolff has not abandoned his pursuit of Max Verstappen, despite Mercedes opening the 2026 season with five consecutive victories. Spanish journalist Antonio Lobato told SoyMotor that the Mercedes team principal remains fixated on bringing the Dutchman to Brackley, even as Andrea Kimi Antonelli leads the championship after four wins in five races. Verstappen's struggles at Red Bull Racing have done nothing to dampen Wolff's appetite, a dynamic that raises questions about Mercedes' long-term driver strategy despite their current on-track supremacy.
Mercedes has made a flawless start to the new regulatory cycle. Antonelli has won four of the opening five races, with George Russell taking victory in the season opener. The Italian rookie's form has silenced doubts about his promotion from Formula 2, and the team has already matched the win tally that took them months to achieve in previous campaigns. Yet according to Lobato, Wolff's ambition extends beyond immediate results.
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The Verstappen fixation persists
"He has had an uncontrollable desire for some time to have Max Verstappen in his team," Lobato said in his SoyMotor report. "What a fantastic film it would be to bring those two together, and he could do it, because Max is in a team that is not performing, not delivering results, and he is desperate." The comments suggest Wolff views Verstappen's current situation at Red Bull as an opportunity, rather than a risk. Verstappen's dominance from 2021 through 2024 included a 19-win season in 2023, and his calibre remains undiminished despite Red Bull's apparent regression under the new technical regulations.
Lobato added that Wolff is now realising a long-held ambition with Antonelli. "Well, he is beginning to make his worldwide dream come true. He has Kimi at his side and it is working, it is starting to work, and he has him leading the world championship and Italy is in uproar." The phrasing is telling. Antonelli was always part of the plan, but evidently not the entirety of it. Wolff's driver strategy has historically centred on pairing youth with proven talent, a formula that delivered eight consecutive constructors' titles before the ground-effect era upended Mercedes' advantage.
Red Bull's struggles open a window
Red Bull's difficulties in adapting to the 2026 power unit and aerodynamic regulations have left Verstappen without a competitive car for the first time since his title breakthrough. Lobato suggests this creates the conditions for a move that seemed improbable 12 months ago. "Circumstances may arise that make this possible, and then we will see what happens next, because Mercedes is looking very strong this year and seems well positioned for this cycle, despite the ADUO and other factors they may still come up with."
The reference to ADUO, the automated driver upgrade option introduced for 2026, hints at technical loopholes Mercedes may exploit to maintain their advantage. Whether Wolff can convert his reported desire into a formal approach to Verstappen remains unclear, but the Spanish media's persistence on the subject reflects ongoing paddock speculation. For now, Mercedes have the dominant package and a rookie delivering at the highest level. Wolff, it seems, still believes he can improve on that
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