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Toto Wolff was one of the frontrunners who had kept a close eye on the relationship between Max Verstappen and Red Bull.
Toto Wolff rides a scooter through the F1 paddock at the Australian Formula One Grand Prix (Picture credit: AP)
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has said that his team has to do the best with the drivers’ lineup that it has and that he doesn’t flirt with other drivers, indicating that there isn’t a chance of the mega Max Verstappen partnership anytime soon.
Wolff was one of the frontrunners who had kept a close eye on the relationship between Verstappen and Red Bull, which was reportedly not at a very good stage a few months back.
When asked about a possible future that features Verstappen, Wolff was quick to shut it down as he said that the side was happy with the driver lineup it had.
“We have to concentrate on our current driver line-up. We have to do the best we can with what we have. And I don’t flirt with others when we have a good relationship [with our current drivers]. That will be no different this year,” Wolff said while speaking to the media ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.
“When we decided to go for Kimi, we explicitly opted for a young driver who has enormous potential. It will be important for him that he is given the time to develop, learn the circuits and be ready for next year, when the rules change,” Wolff added.
Meanwhile, Mercedes’ old recruit Lewis Hamilton qualified eighth-fastest on his Ferrari debut as McLaren’s Lando Norris bagged pole position for the Aussie GP on Saturday, March 15, at Albert Park.
Norris went into the third session of final qualifying on the back foot after his first lap was deleted for track limit infringements at turn four, where he had all four wheels off the track.
Norris’ teammate and Melbourne-born Oscar Piastri was second, enabling McLaren to lock out the front row for the second straight race after last year’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, the defending world champion, bagged third, shrugging off pre-season pace concerns for the team about its RB21 car.
