"But now..."

Verstappen? Wolff gave Hamilton a promise

Toto Wolff took Lewis Hamilton's word for it - he explained this to his wife Susie (far right) on the terrace.

(Bild: AP, Twitter.com/blog_formula1)

Has Lewis Hamilton spoken out against Max Verstappen as his successor at Mercedes? A scene from the latest Netflix documentary series "Drive to survive" suggests so. In it, Toto Wolff confesses that he was right about Hamilton.

The passage certainly seems explosive. Mercedes boss Wolff can be seen talking to his wife Susie about God and the Formula 1 world in the new series, which has been open to the public since Friday. The topic is the successor to Lewis Hamilton, whose switch to Ferrari had already been made public. Toto ponders Verstappen as a possible successor. But then confesses to his wife: "I promised Lewis I wouldn't talk to Verstappen." Exciting. Apparently Hamilton wanted - and was allowed - to have a say in his personal succession. But only to a limited extent. Because Toto Wolff concludes his thoughts by saying that he will certainly seek talks with Verstappen now.

"Is Verstappen an option?"
Toto had previously spoken to his wife about other options, such as Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso. "And Verstappen?" Susie then wants to know. Is he an option? "I think he's an option," says her husband: "But if he wins everything, there's little reason to change." And what's more, he has his word to Hamilton. Nevertheless, he will seek talks with Verstappen.

As we now know, things turned out differently. Verstappen stayed at Red Bull (even though rumors about his willingness to switch have been doing the rounds again and again), Wolff opted for youngster Kimi Antonelli as Hamilton's successor. And he will try to drive Ferarri to new heights in 2026.