Toto Wolff's admission about Mercedes signing Max Verstappen and George Russell situation

Toto Wolff has admitted only "God knows" whether will one day race for .

The idea that the Dutchman might one day line up for his team is certainly an enticing prospect for . As rumours circled that Verstappen might have been unsettled at earlier this year, the Mercedes team principal wasted no opportunity to talk about how much he would like to bring him to Brackley.

Verstappen has a Red Bull contract until 2028 and, though he has been doubtful about his own F1 future at times, he is committed to staying put at least next year. When he finally realised that, Wolff committed to promoting teenager to replace for 2025.

Wolff has already said, though, that he plans to keep a communication channel open with Verstappen's camp. And now, speaking on the podcast, the Austrian said his relationship with the Dutchman and remains intact despite the fierce 2021 title fight which caused plenty of tension.

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He said: "We get on very well, not always in the visibility of the public eye. I have known Jos for a long time - he is my age, we have similar views on racing. And I would not want the year 2021 to put any shadow on any personal relationship that we have. It was bad enough that year, but the relationships are intact."

Antonelli will line up alongside next season, who will take over as team leader in Hamilton's absence but only has a contract until the end of 2025.. Both of Mercedes' drivers are products of their own driver academy - a huge source of personal pride for Wolff.

He made that much clear as he admitted he is unsure whether he will be able to convince Verstappen to swap sides in the future. "It feels natural now to go to the next generation," Wolff added.

"Max is a great driver and an interesting personality, and God knows what happens in the future. But having Kimi and George in the car, homegrown, real Mercedes juniors that delivered every step of their career that we supported, I am very much looking forward to that situation."

As for Hamilton's exit, Wolff said he was aware it was likely before the Brit even told him after he got a tip off from the father of , the driver he is replacing at Ferrari.

The Austrian added: "The old man Sainz called me and said this is what is happening. Then there were a few drivers that rang me up that did not before. [I] sent a text to [Ferrari boss] Fred Vasseur saying 'You are taking our driver?' I did not get any response, very unusual for Fred. He is a good friend."