Mercedes are a long way behind rivals Red Bull right now. After last weekend’s Miami Grand Prix, the gap between the two teams stands at 175 points.
And to make matters worse, it was actually a relatively good weekend for the Silver Arrows and a relatively bad one for the Bulls. Sixth and eighth represented Mercedes’ best result since Bahrain, while Red Bull failed to win for just the second time this season.
Ferrari and McLaren are taking the fight to Christian Horner’s team, while Mercedes are lagging behind. But one thing that will offer Toto Wolff a degree of encouragement, perhaps, is the ongoing instability at Milton Keynes.
Ahead of the race in Miami, Red Bull lost one of their most significant figures as Adrian Newey handed in his resignation. One of the reasons he became unsettled was that he felt his true value wasn’t being acknowledged.
Some of the team’s employees are apparently ‘quite pleased’ to see Newey go. They didn’t approve of his working methods.
Others, however, are now considering their own futures at Milton Keynes. Newey may only be the first domino to fall.
The uncertainty has even extended to the world champion Max Verstappen. Max’s father Jos warned before the race that the team was at risk of ‘falling apart’.
Toto Wolff says Mercedes are receiving applications from Red Bull
Speaking in Miami, McLaren CEO Zak Brown said he’d seen ‘an increase in CVs’ from Red Bull employees in recent times. And speaking to Sky Sports F1, Wolff corroborated that account.
While he played down the significance of the influx, he also set out his intention to make some ‘interesting’ hires in the hope of bolstering his struggling team. Horner recently warned him to focus on his own issues rather than publicly courting Verstappen.
“Zak is absolutely correct,” Wolff said. “We are seeing Red Bull CVs through all of the levels. But I would say this isn’t anything out of the extraordinary. People change teams and want to change environment.
“I’ve come to the point that I’m not really interested what’s going on there with the leadership, not listening to anything anymore. I think it’s important for us to look at our team, develop the strong people and hopefully get some interesting, competent people from other teams into Mercedes and provide an exciting journey to recovery.”
Will Max Verstappen go to Mercedes?
Of course, the one Red Bull employee Wolff really wants is superstar driver Verstappen. He’s pulling out all the stops to convince him to join.
Money alone won’t be enough to persuade the Dutchman to leave the title holders. But a ‘world record’ contract proposal certainly won’t hurt Mercedes’ chances.
Wolff could also look to surround Verstappen with some of his Red Bull allies. He’s ready to make a move for executive director Helmut Marko, and has also explored a swoop for Pierre Wache.
Verstappen apparently has a great deal of faith in the technical director, which is why Newey’s exit isn’t a great concern for him. Indeed, he’s poised to take on a greater role in the aftermath, which could put him out of Mercedes’ reach.
As the clear favourite for the world championship this year and next, the 26-year-old is showing little interest in leaving right away. But there’s a ‘real possibility’ he jumps ship ahead of the 2026 regulation changes.
This may have been one scenario that was discussed when Verstappen met Wolff for talks after the Miami Grand Prix. The very fact those negotiations are happening must be a concern for Horner.
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