“It’s time to stop cheating” with Max Verstappen and Mercedes F1 representative[F1-Gate.com]

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff says now that the team’s F1 driver line-up has been finalized, it is time to end the “cheating” with Max Verstappen.

Wolff held a number of talks with Verstappen’s team about a potential move earlier this year, following Lewis Hamilton’s announcement that he would be leaving Mercedes at the end of this season.

Wolff had hoped that the early season turmoil within Red Bull following the accusations against team principal Christian Horner, and questions about the team’s long-term competitiveness, might prompt Verstappen to leave.

However, interest in signing Verstappen waned as talks failed to progress and Mercedes became increasingly impressed with junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s progress in this year’s testing.

Mercedes announced ahead of this year’s Italian Grand Prix that Antonelli would replace Hamilton in what the team hopes is the start of a long-term relationship.

Mercedes says it plans to maintain its driver line-up for the next few years, with Antonelli alongside George Russell. Therefore, Wolff believes there is no need to actively use Verstappen anymore.

“We are waiting,” Wolff told Autosport magazine about his thoughts on Verstappen’s future.

“I think I’ve said it before, but there’s a similar opinion from Max’s side. You have to trust the driver and the team. You need maximum support to make it successful. And only if it really goes wrong , consider other opportunities.”

“For me, it’s like trying to make a relationship work and then cheating on the outside. You don’t cheat on the outside because it’s not going to work out.”

“Only when I want change or want to consider change do I seek out a conversation, and so does he. I think our values ​​are pretty aligned in that regard.”

Mercedes see Antonelli as a very long-term player, but Russell’s future is a subject of interest and Red Bull could be a candidate for Red Bull when his current contract ends at the end of 2025. It suggests that there is a sex.

But Wolff sees Russell as an integral part of Mercedes’ team for years to come and believes he will relish the new challenge of playing against the young Antonelli.

“George has had a similar trajectory in terms of karting and junior formula, and George was the first Mercedes junior to join us,” Wolff added. “He’s still our Mercedes driver.”

“There is no big difference between him and Antonelli. Emotionally, we have the same support. Nothing changes.”

“All the top drivers in F1 know that they have to compete with their team-mates, whether they are younger or older. George’s team-mate has been with the greatest driver of all time, Lewis Hamilton, for three years. We were together.”

“So he’ll be perfectly fine playing against one of the youngest players coming in with high expectations.”

Category: F1 / mercedes f1 / max verstappen