Wolff admits to 'mistake' with Verstappen camp

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has revealed a “mistake” he made that hampered his relationship with the Verstappen F1 camp.

Wolff has been public in his pursuit of Max Verstappen to fill one of its seats at Mercedes in the near future following the exit of Lewis Hamilton.

Verstappen was originally pursued by Mercedes prior to committing his F1 ties to Red Bull in late 2014.

“We’ve had a very good relationship since Max came on our radar, racing single-seaters,” Wolff reflected to select media including RacingNews365.

“Our meeting in my living room in Vienna was the first big Formula 1 meeting they did, and we had always the understanding of how things should work for them and for us.

“That respect for each other always stayed.”

Wolff has halted his attempts to sign Verstappen for next season but has admitted the door remains open for the 2026 campaign and beyond.

Verstappen once was engaged in a fierce rivalry with Mercedes and Hamilton during the 2021 campaign, with the title fight hotting up following an opening lap collision at the British Grand Prix that sent Verstappen into the barrier at high speed.

It came to light earlier this year that Verstappen has been suffering from visibility problems ever since the crash.

Wolff has conceded he made an error by not phoning Max's father Jos after the shunt to personally check on the Dutchman's condition.

“I think where we had a moment was after Silverstone,” he said. “I think that season really took some toll on all of us. It was so intense, each of us felt that things weren't right.

“Where it really went wrong is that I made a mistake after Silverstone. I didn't call Jos on the same day, which I should have done, but I didn't call him because we were so angry about the whole situation and because I was told by Paul Monaghan [Red Bull chief engineer] in the pit lane that Max was fine and there is nothing [wrong].

“And in a way, I relied on that information, rather than picking up the phone and calling Jos like I would have done all the years before, and saying ‘Is Max OK?’.”

“I have a child that go karts. I know how you feel as a father, and that's not something that I had in my mind.”

The rivalry only intensified as the title battle heated up and was decided on the final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in controversial circumstances.

However, Wolff has asserted the relationship has since been repaired.

“Then obviously the disaster Abu Dhabi and the races leading up to Saudi Arabia, we weren't in a good place,” he said.

“We were kind of on the same wavelength in the year afterwards, we went back into a good position, and today, or the last couple of years, as good as it was at the beginning.”