05 February 2024 , 11:52
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Helmut Marko thinks Toto Wolff could attempt to convince Max Verstappen to join Mercedes when Lewis Hamilton leaves - but doubts his fellow Austrian will have any success.
Hamilton has agreed to join Ferrari at the end of the 2024 season in a sensational switch which will bring to an end his 11-year stint racing for the Brackley-based squad. It leaves Wolff with the task of finding a successor to a man who won six of his seven F1 drivers' titles while racing for the Silver Arrows.
There will also be a significant commercial loss for the team - Hamilton is a household name and more marketable than any of his fellow racers. The only one who might be able to come close in that respect, while also replacing the Briton's talent, is Verstappen.
The Dutchman has won three consecutive titles with Red Bull and team adviser Marko thinks Wolff might make a play in the coming months. "Toto Wolff will try that - but he will be unsuccessful," he told German publication Sport.
Marko believes the fact Verstappen has a "good memory" of his run-ins with Hamilton and Mercedes, particularly during their blockbuster 2021 title fight, will dissuade him from ever representing the Silver Arrows. But also significant is the contract the Dutchman has until the end of the 2028 season.
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With five more full campaigns to go on that deal and Red Bull currently ruling the roost as the best team in F1, the stage is set for Verstappen to continue to enjoy plenty of success by staying exactly where he is. Plus, there is every chance that he may not sign another contract in F1 - despite the fact he will be just 31 when that deal ends.
Verstappen has made no secret of his desire to leave F1 as a comparatively young man. And he has admitted that a major factor in that decision, when the time comes to make it, will be whether or not he still has the machine underneath him to compete for more race wins and titles.
He said last year: "Depends a lot also on the package, right? That's how Formula 1 works. Personally, I'm still young even though I'm already in F1 for a while. Definitely, I have quite a few more years in me to be able to operate at my best. But yeah, we'll see how long that is. To be honest, I think it's more about how long I want to be here. That's different.
"Depends how far back on the grid. I know there will be a time when you're not winning but, yeah, probably when you're driving P15, maybe not. But if you're still fighting up front, trying to win races and you have this prospect of coming back to the top, for sure."