Jun.17 (GMM) Ralf Schumacher believes Toto Wolff has already made an approach to Max Verstappen – but not one seriously designed to lure the Dutchman away from Red Bull.
Speculation about Verstappen’s future continues to intensify amid Red Bull’s struggles and growing uncertainty about whether the quadruple world champion will activate performance-related exit clauses in his contract.
Now Schumacher claims Mercedes has indeed made an offer.
“At Mercedes, we hear that Toto Wolff made him an offer – behind the scenes,” the former Formula 1 driver told Sky Deutschland.
“But the offer was apparently so bad, financially speaking, that it’s completely out of the question.”
When asked if he was referring to discussions before the start of the season, Schumacher suggested the timing was more recent. “No, no, no – but it doesn’t matter,” he said.
The German believes the nature of the reported offer reveals Wolff’s true intentions.
“I’ve said it before – why would Toto Wolff, if everything goes as planned, get an expensive Max Verstappen alongside Kimi Antonelli, the future superstar?”
The comments come as Schumacher argues that the pecking order at Mercedes has now fundamentally shifted.
Although Antonelli’s five-race winning streak ended in Barcelona with a power unit failure, the Italian comfortably passed teammate George Russell before retiring from the race.
For Schumacher, that settled the debate.
“Kimi has shown that he is faster,” he said. “Kimi is number 1 at Mercedes.
“George has to take a back seat.”
Mercedes team boss Wolff’s comments after the Spanish GP have only added fuel to that interpretation, while fans noticed the team boss’s cool body language towards Russell.
Following Antonelli’s retirement, Wolff openly regretted not using team orders earlier in the race when Russell was ahead. “We probably lost five or six seconds when the two of them were battling,” he said.
“That’s something we’ll definitely have to look at for the next few races when a new opponent comes along,” Wolff added, referring to Lewis Hamilton’s breakthrough Ferrari victory.
Schumacher believes that is precisely why signing Verstappen would make little sense as a teammate to Antonelli. “Then he’ll definitely have two drivers in the team fighting against each other,” he said.
“He knows that feeling well from the Rosberg and Hamilton era. It’s like a hole in your head. And above all, it puts Kimi in danger.
“So that makes absolutely no sense.”
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