Toto Wolff sets deadline for Mercedes 2026 F1 driver lineup as Max Verstappen 'conversations' become public 

Toto Wolff has set the summer break as the deadline to finalise Mercedes’ driver lineup for 2026 and beyond. Speaking to GP Blog, the Austrian confirmed that the decision regarding whether Max Verstappen will be a Mercedes driver next year will not be delayed beyond August.

With Verstappen linked to Mercedes throughout the Austrian GP weekend, Wolff has been repeatedly questioned about the Dutchman’s potential move. While Verstappen has avoided confirming any discussions publicly, his noncommittal responses regarding his future with Red Bull have only fuelled speculation. Earlier in the weekend, Wolff admitted that Mercedes was waiting on Max Verstappen’s decision before making a call on their drivers' contract renewals.

Following the race in Spielberg, the Mercedes team principal revealed that talks with the drivers involved were progressing well through June. He emphasized that he did not want to keep any driver waiting and confirmed that a final decision will be made by mid-summer break.

When asked if he had a deadline in mind to decide the driver lineup for Mercedes, Wolff said:

“You need to be respectable towards the stakeholders in all of that process. The organization, the drivers, everybody, you need to understand how you've got the way forward. I don't want to do statistics and letting a driver wait or not taking any decisions when it should be taken. So I feel we're in a good space with June. Obviously there's lots of discussions around, but I've been open with it, transparent and at a certain stage and in the next couple of months... until the summer break we need to know. Any point I need to know until the summer break will be over. Everything is going to be done.”

Asked to clarify the particular deadline for the decision, Wolff added:

“Maybe the middle [of the summer break].”

Mercedes are currently third in the Constructor's Championship Standings.

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Toto Wolff explains his response in the garage towards Kimi Antonelli for crashing into Max Verstappen

Toto Wolff expressed empathy for Max Verstappen after his early retirement from the Austrian GP due to a first-lap collision with Kimi Antonelli. The Mercedes team principal revealed that he told Verstappen it wasn’t ideal to see the incident happen, especially so early in the race.

Wolff explained that Antonelli had locked his rear tyres under braking, which was unusual. He admitted that it remained unclear whether the collision was due to driver error or a technical fault in the system. While describing the crash as unfortunate, he emphasised that such incidents are part of racing and would need to be reviewed in detail from a technical standpoint.

Commenting on Antonelli’s crash with Max Verstappen to onsite media after the race, Wolff said:

“These mistakes happen. The rears locked on the car. I’m not entirely sure if it was his fault or a system, I didn’t look through the data nor did I hear because we were concentrating on the race but that happens. He came into the garage quickly and I said ‘well that wasn’t great’, which he obviously knew. But he said the tyres just locked and we need to analyse that. But again, there’s margin for error in our business. It’s a shame that we took another car out with us, but that can happen. It can happen to the great ones, to the inexperienced ones, to the experienced ones. It’s just part of Formula 1.”

Following the crash at the Austrian GP, Kimi Antonelli was handed a three-place grid penalty for the next race, along with two penalty points on his license. The incident had a significant impact on Max Verstappen’s title hopes, as it resulted in a retirement and widened the gap to his championship rivals.

Before the race, Max Verstappen trailed Lando Norris by 21 points and Oscar Piastri by 43. After failing to score at the Red Bull Ring, he remains third in the standings with 155 points but is now 46 points behind Norris and 61 points behind Piastri. The setback has increased the pressure on Red Bull to deliver strong results in the upcoming rounds to keep Verstappen in the title fight.

Edited by Anisha Chatterjee