Toto Wolff has made a shocking statement. The Mercedes team boss has spoken openly for the first time about who he wants to sign to replace Lewis Hamilton, who is leaving at the end of the year.
Wolff threw out four names, none of which are a real surprise, but rather the openness with which he targets one of them:
"We have some very interesting options! There's Kimi Antonelli, Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso and of course Max Verstappen, who we want more than anyone else. It's a collaboration that has to happen someday! It's just a question of when... But there's no denying it: he's our number one candidate next to George Russell! But I don't want to write off the others. Our main focus here is to be a top team and be able to deliver a really competitive car that can appeal to these drivers. It's more about creating an efficient team that is a golden mean on the way back to success, but of course as a team manager you always want the best driver pair in the field," said Wolff, who effectively inadvertently resolved the "who is better, Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen" debate...
Wolff: "For once we need to have a COMPETITOR"

Krisztián Márk Tóth |