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Fans have been arguing about who would win in a race between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in equal machinery. we might never know the answer, however, Toto Wolff had the opportunity to unite the archrivals at Mercedes.
The Dutchman was an exciting prospect during his karting days. Both Mercedes and Red Bull were eager to sign the youngster who was considered a potential champion.
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The Milton Keynes-based team offered the driver a chance to debut in F1 at the age of 17. Eventually, Red Bull beat the Silver Arrows for Verstappen’s signature, an opportunity Wolff regrets missing out on.
Toto Wolff could have signed Max Verstappen in 2014
Toto Wolff reveals he had talks with Max Verstappen’s father Jos and manager in 2013. The Dutchman and his father even visited Wolff’s residence in Vienna. Wolff was unable to provide him with a racing seat while Red Bull offered him a Toro Rosso seat for the 2015 season.
Wolff told in an interview with ESPN that he regrets not signing the future world champion. However, he said, “That wasn’t an option back then. We had two drivers that I was extremely happy with, namely Nico and Lewis.”
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When Rosberg retired in 2016, Verstappen had already been tied down by Red Bull on a long-term contract. Mercedes opted for Valtteri Bottas to partner with Lewis Hamilton. However, Wolff wonders if Verstappen would have been a better option.
He added, “Would Max and Lewis have worked together? Maybe not. And Lewis has been a Mercedes driver all his life, so that’s a tough question I’ve never had to ask myself for the organization.”
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Both Hamilton and Verstappen are two drivers who are hungry for success. So a team with the two drivers would have ended in a disaster and a repeat of the Hamilton-Rosberg situation at Mercedes. However, Verstappen could have also enjoyed a head start and achieved his titles at a much younger age.
Lewis Hamilton was once on Red Bull’s radar
Between 2010 and 2013, Lewis Hamilton persuaded Christian Horner for a Red Bull F1 seat. However, just as Toto Wolff predicted, Max Verstappen would not have been a perfect fit for Mercedes- Horner rejected Hamilton.
The 7x champion was frustrated with McLaren’s inability to fight for the title. However, Red Bull’s team principal believed the Briton and Sebastian Vettel’s combination would not have worked out.
Horner revealed, “Lewis and I have had a couple of conversations over the years. He was keen to come and drive for Red Bull. We had Sebastian at that time and to have had two alpha drivers wouldn’t have made sense.”
Horner wanted to avoid a Senna-Prost kind of situation at Red Bull and refrained from signing Hamilton. The Briton eventually signed for Mercedes, with whom he’s dominated F1 by winning 6 titles in 7 years.
Horner has rejected the idea of bringing Hamilton to Milton Keynes if his Mercedes contract expires. One can only imagine how things would have panned out if Hamilton or Verstappen had switched allegiances early on.
