"We are bit on observation mode at the moment": Toto Wolff on second driver at Mercedes

Miami [US], May 7 (ANI): Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff hasn't ruled out meeting with Max Verstappen to explore the prospect of replacing Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.
Wolff has praised Verstappen since the season began, noting that "no team principal wouldn't do handstands" to sign the Dutchman and that he was "waiting" to see how the driver market evolved.
Reigning world champion Verstappen is under contract with Red Bull until the conclusion of the 2028 season and has stated that he intends to continue with the club "at the moment."
Following the Miami Grand Prix, Wolff denied that a meeting with Verstappen's representatives was planned for Monday, but refused to rule out more talks this month.
"There's always plenty of meetings. I can't really say about the second driver [at Mercedes]," Wolff said as quoted by Sky Sports.
"I think we've talked about the possibilities. I want to be fair to these guys and not make it look like we are playing chess with humans, because we are not doing that. I think we want to take our time, see where Max's thinking goes, and at the same time, monitor the other drivers. Carlos [Sainz] was very strong in Miami again and that's why we are a little bit on observation mode at the moment," he added.
Wolff believes Verstappen is the most important chess piece in this year's driver market for all teams.
"As I said before, if I was him, I wouldn't leave, at least for 2025. But it's all in his... he's the leading the driver, he's the top guy at the moment and that's why it's for him to take those decisions. There may not be any decisions to take, maybe everything will continue like it is, but that is then also guidance for us," Wolff added.
Prior to the Miami Grand Prix, Red Bull announced that Adrian Newey would be stepping down as chief technical officer of the Formula One team with immediate effect, and that he would focus on other projects until he could leave in early 2025.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown claimed his team has observed a "increase in CVs" from Red Bull personnel, which Wolff agreed on from Mercedes' standpoint.
"Zak is absolutely correct. 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 the environment," said Wolff.
"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," he added. (ANI)