‘Which meeting?’ – Max Verstappen responds to Toto Wolff’s Mercedes summer claim

Max Verstappen plugs his ears at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen to Mercedes? Team boss Toto Wolff has teased that he had a meeting with the three-time World Champion and his management team in hopes of signing Verstappen — but Verstappen denies knowledge of that meeting ever taking place.

In the post-qualifying press conference ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, Verstappen asked, “Which meeting?”

Max Verstappen: “Which meeting?”

Additional reporting by Sam Cooper

Asked to comment on any meetings he or his management have had with Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, Max Verstappen asked, “Which meeting? I don’t remember.”

Ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, Toto Wolff stated that he’s made multiple attempts to sign Verstappen to the Mercedes team by holding meetings with Verstappen, Verstappen’s father Jos, and Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen — as recently as this summer.

The Lewis Hamilton v Max Verstappen rivalry precluded the Dutch driver from joining the Silver Arrows in the aftermath of the contentious 2021 season, but Wolff hadn’t given up hope.

Now, with Hamilton signed to Ferrari for 2025 and rumors of discontent swirling around the Red Bull Racing team, it appears that Wolff has tried again.

However, with Verstappen signed to Red Bull until 2028, it seems as if a Mercedes seat would be off the cards — at least for the next several years.

More driver rumors from the build-up to the Dutch Grand Prix:

 Ferrari boss responds after Lewis Hamilton ‘second choice’ to Max Verstappen claim

 Toto Wolff drops biggest Lewis Hamilton replacement hint yet with Max Verstappen ‘wait’ over

Verstappen’s refusal to play ball with the question about the meeting saw him later asked if he feels Toto Wolff should stop speaking about him. But Verstappen wouldn’t go so far as to say yes.

“Everyone can say what they want,” he said.

“I get on very well with Toto. He’s very open about what’s happening within his team, right?

“Also, I think, with the driver lineup and stuff, there’s nothing wrong with that.

“And at the same time also, I just focus on my job. This is a lot to do anyway, so we just focus on that.”

Though Verstappen is contracted to race for Red Bull well into the future, the three-time World Champion is obviously at the top of every team’s driver lineup wishlist. Few teams, though, could encourage Verstappen to swap forces quite like Mercedes.

One of the biggest question marks remaining in the F1 2025 driver lineup, then, is who will partner George Russell at Mercedes. All signs seem to point to teenage star Kimi Antonelli — but there will be no way to know for certain until the ink on the contract has dried.

Read next: Dutch GP: Lando Norris storms to pole as Lewis Hamilton investigation launched