'Wolff set his priorities wrong by chasing Verstappen,' analyst argues

09:21, 06 Aug

bySandy van Wijngaarden

According to Peter Windsor, the Mercedes' Toto Wolff focused on the wrong driver in Max Verstappen, and the Austrian did not have his priorities straight.

After rumours of Max Verstappen joining Mercedes, over the media day at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the four-time world champion confirmed he will stay for the 2026 season with Red Bull Racing.

Talking to a selected group of media, including GPblog, team representative Bradley Lord also talked about the German team's process, and why did Toto Wolff began exploring what the 'medium long term picture is.'

Windsor thinks Wolff should have focused on Russell

After Verstappen's deal, it appears nothing more than a formality that the team will continue with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.

Peter Windsor however does not leave it at that. He argues that Wolff has set his priorities completely wrong.

“What does he need Max for? He's got George Russell. It's not Ferrari. His solution is not to have Max. His solution is to have a better car,” the Australian argues on the Cameron Cc channel.

Toto Wolff, the team boss of Mercedes

According to Windsor, Russell is more than capable of winning world titles with a car that allows him to do that. “He failed to get Adrian Newey, and now he needs to focus on having a better car for George Russell. There's no good car in the world with which George Russell wouldn't win a world championship. But, Max would be better in a couple of areas here or there, but that isn't what it's all about."

“It's all about the car, and they’ve got George Russell, you give him a good car, he's gonna win a world championship for you, absolutely for sure, they don't need Max for that. So again, a little bit like Ferrari, Toto got his priorities completely wrong. If indeed he was spending so much time trying to get Max," Windsor concluded.