Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says he and Max Verstappen have agreed to keep communications open with a view to a potential blockbuster move in the future.
Verstappen has emerged as the dominant force in Formula One since beating Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton to his first drivers' championship title in 2021, winning two further crowns and leading Lando Norris in the standings this year.
However, the Dutchman has repeatedly cast doubt upon his long-term future with Red Bull, suggesting ahead of last week's Dutch Grand Prix that he was more than halfway through his F1 career.
When Hamilton confirmed he would join Ferrari for 2025 in January, Mercedes were strongly linked with a move for Verstappen amid a turbulent time for Red Bull.
Red Bull chief Christian Horner was accused – and later cleared – of sexual harassment and coercive behaviour by a female team employee, with his relationship with Verstappen reportedly becoming strained.
Wolff admits there was a moment where the deal seemed possible, though Mercedes are now expected to confirm Andrea Kimi Antonelli as George Russell's team-mate for 2025.
"Red Bull was the dominant car at the beginning of the season," Wolff told BBC Sport. "And that changed a bit. It's Max Verstappen dominant at the moment.
"And the relationships were dysfunctional. I'm not sure they are back in a great place, but it is what it is.
"There was a moment, or there was an opportunity, to at least have conversations of what it could be in the future, and this is what we did."
Asked if Verstappen could join the Silver Arrows for 2026, when wide-ranging regulation changes take effect, Wolff responded: "Much too early.
"For the benefit of our drivers next year, I don't want to have any conversations about 2026 or beyond, because we very much hope that the 2025 lineup will be the lineup going forward.
"We have not given each other any, let's say, timings.
"It is more like, keep the communication channel open, while knowing that his priority is to make it function with Red Bull and our priority will be to make it function with the two drivers we have."
FIA wrong to punish Verstappen for swearing, says Steiner
Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has said the FIA was wrong to punish Formula One world champion Max Verstappen for swearing.
The Red Bull driver, who won his third world championship title last year, was asked to do community service by the motorsport’s governing body for swearing in a news conference during last month’s Singapore Grand Prix.
Verstappen then protested against the punishment by giving short answers during an official news conference and termed the penalty "ridiculous", going on to say that such decisions could speed up his exit from the sport.
Now, the former Haas boss has weighed in, saying that the FIA should not have “made a big story out of it.”
“Max didn't swear at anybody. He used the f-word about his car. So nobody got offended by it, in my opinion,” said Steiner, who departed Haas at the start of the year.
"The best way [to handle it] would have been not to make a big story of it. Sit down with the drivers, they have a meeting every weekend, and say: 'Hey, guys, can you tone it down a little bit? We are the FIA, we don't really like this.'
"But don't say: 'If you do, you get a fine, a penalty, whatever.' Because you know these guys, they've got an ego as well. And they say: 'I don't want to do that.' And then what do you create? All this controversy - for nothing."
Leclerc excited by 'motivation' Hamilton's arrival will bring to Ferrari
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc thinks that the arrival of Lewis Hamilton can help take both the team and himself to another level.
At the start of the 2024 season, Ferrari shocked Formula One by announcing that Hamilton would replace Carlos Sainz and be joining for the following campaign.
His impending arrival is something that Leclerc is clearly excited about, as he explained in an appearance on the Beyond The Grid podcast.
“When a champion like Lewis gets to any team, it brings a lot of motivation out of every single person,” Leclerc said.
“He will come along with all the experience that he's had over the years with Mercedes – a different way of working, a different vision – and this is always benefitting a team.”
Hamilton is a seven-time Drivers’ Championship winner with his last title coming in 2020, meaning he is level in the all-time standings with Michael Schumacher, while he also holds the F1 record for the most race wins ever (105).
Understandably, Leclerc is looking forward to being able to measure his own performance against a strong yardstick.
“Obviously for me it's going to be amazing because I’ll have, in the same car as me, the most successful driver in F1 history,” he said.
“That will be both extremely interesting for me to learn from one of the best ever, as well as a really big challenge and motivation to beat Lewis and to show what I'm capable of.
“With Lewis joining the team, he will definitely be a benchmark so it will be very important for me to be on my top level.”
On a personal level, Hamilton’s arrival will spell an end to the four-year period that Leclerc and Sainz have been together at Ferrari.
Leclerc was reflective about the relationship the pair have had while racing together, with Sainz set to join Williams in 2025.
While they have a good personal relationship, Leclerc said that it has not always gone smoothly.
“I think we get on very, very well,” he said.
“Yes, there have been many moments where, inside the helmet, I hated him and he hated me, because we didn't view the situation in the same way.
“But everything was fixed after a discussion between us two. We share many interests and we’ve had a lot of memorable moments that I will remember forever.”
Jamaican sensation Alex Powell claims first F4 win in Italy
Jamaican Alex Powell, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team Junior, claimed his first European F4 victory in one of the most exciting races of the year at the famed ‘Temple of Speed’, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Monza, Italy, on Sunday.
Ninth on the grid for the first race of the weekend, Powell had a blistering start, which saw him move up four positions on lap one, before the first of several Safety Car appearances paused racing. It was a race with multiple incidents and re-starts, but Powell remained focused and was consistently sharp for every start.
After a three-way battle, the Jamaican sensation executed a breathtaking pass for the race lead, before a final incident brought out the Safety Car again, with Powell crossing the line first as the race finished.
In addition to the outright race win, Powell also secured first among rookie drivers, claiming the two top trophies in the race. His performance also assisted Prema Racing to secure the team title for the 2024 Euro 4 Championship.
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