While the rumour of Sebastian Vettel being sent to Mercedes continues to circulate in the media, Toto Wolff has decided to speak out on the subject in order to set the record straight.
The Mercedes boss believes that, apart from the marketing side, recruiting the German interferes with Mercedes’ current strategy.
A young talent like George Russell would be more in line with the long-term vision of the world champion team.
“Of course, a German driver in a German car is from a marketing point of view an excellent operation.” admits Wolff,
“However, we are focusing our strategy on the long term.”
Wolff continues…
“Even though I know Sebastian is very good, we are considering all possibilities in case Valtteri or Lewis leaves.
“That’s why we are also thinking about what we can do with George Russell.
“Even if the Vettel option is a possibility, it’s not on the agenda at the moment, because we want to concentrate first on our current drivers.” says Wolff.
The Austrian concluded by saying that, given the many innovations that Mercedes has been deploying for a number of years, it would not be very smart to let one of its drivers go to the competition.
“It’s a bit difficult when you have to deal with a driver who still has a year left on his contract and you let him go to a rival team.
“You have to take into account the fact that when he leaves, he does so with all your knowledge and all your secrets of innovation and that can backfire on you the following year.
“That’s why we don’t want to get into the same logic as some teams.”
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