AP Top News｜F1 梅赛德斯车队的首席Wolff表示，他并不打算在2026年与维斯塔潘签约
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) Mercedes team principal and chief executive Toto Wolff has denied rumors on the eve of the Australian Grand Prix weekend that hes still seeking to sign reigning F1 world champion Max Verstappen for 2026.
Mercedes, which has a new driver lineup this year that sees rookie prospect Andrea Kimi Antonelli join George Russell, is hoping to emerge from its recent lean spell in F1 that has seen it score just five wins from the last three seasons, four of which came in 2024.
But while Verstappen was reportedly on Mercedes shopping list last year as a top-gun replacement for its then-outgoing star Lewis Hamilton , Silver Arrows team boss Wolff says extending Russells contract beyond 2025 is the priority.
I think weve said it pretty clearly last year, and (Verstappen) said the same, we need to concentrate on our driver line-up, we need to do (the best with) that we have, Wolff said Thursday in Melbourne.
I dont flirt outside if Im in a good relationship, and that is true for this year, too. So, at the moment that is not on any, lets say, radar and I dont plan to shift my concentration away from these guys and make sure that George has a contract (extension) pretty soon and we agree on the final things.
Plenty of decisions to come
Wolffs future driver lineup came into focus this week after McLaren extended its deal with Australian Oscar Piastri, which puts him out of reach during the sports next big expected grid shuffle in 2027.
We have had a chat (with Russell) a few weeks ago about what the right timing would be to liaise, and Im naively or not someone that sticks to what he says, Wolff said.
These three (including reserve driver Valtteri Bottas) are the combination that I want to go forward with Mercedes, and I have no reasons to doubt that. Were going to find some time, I guess, before the summer.
Russell, a long-time Mercedes protg who joined the works team in 2022 fresh from three years at Williams, is keen to stay in silver.
Weve had such a long-term relationship, and theres so much trust, Russell said. We are focused on getting Mercedes back on top and trying to win races, and championships, and to be honest in this sport, the performance speaks.
Hamilton: most exciting period of my life
Hamilton made it clear in Melbourne that hes moved on, following his record-breaking stint with Mercedes, with the seven-time F1 world champion enjoying life at Ferrari as he prepares for his maiden start with the Scuderia.
Hamilton, whod been powered by Mercedes for his entire F1 career from 2007 to 2024, made a shock switch to Ferrari starting this year, following negotiations with Mercedes in 2023 that saw him offered a shorter tenure to future proof the operation.
Hamilton signed the one-plus-one (option year) deal in August 2023, but made a swift u-turn in January last year to join the Prancing Horse from 2025.
And the veteran Brit has been enjoying every moment spent at Maranello.
Youre looking at things from a different perspective, and that makes it exciting and challenging, Hamilton said Thursday. This is definitely the most exciting period of my life. Im really enjoying it, and Im so excited to get in the car tomorrow.
Hamilton is also working like hes a rookie again, this time at age 40 and with a record 105 wins and 104 pole positions.
Im back at kind of square one, Hamilton said. Im really just putting all the time I have in. Ive been at the factory, like four days a week. Ive been given absolutely everything to training, to push my mind and my body further than I have before, trying to see if I can excel, and just squeeze more juice out of this.
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AP Formula 1: https://apnews.com/hub/formula-one
澳大利亚墨尔本（美联社）——梅赛德斯车队的主管兼首席执行官托托·沃尔夫（Toto Wolff）否认了澳大利亚大奖赛周末前夕的传言，即他仍在试图与现役F1世界冠军马克斯·维斯塔潘（Max Verstappen）签订2026年的合同。
今年，梅赛德斯车队迎来新的阵容，新秀安德烈亚·基米·安东内利（Andrea Kimi Antonelli）与乔治·拉塞尔（George Russell）一同加入，希望从F1中最近的不佳表现中走出，该车队在最近三个赛季中仅获得五次胜利，其中四次是在2024年。
尽管据报道，去年维斯塔潘（Verstappen）在梅赛德斯（Mercedes）的购物清单上，作为其当时即将离队的明星路易斯·汉密尔顿（Lewis Hamilton）的顶级替代者，但银箭车队（Silver Arrows）的队老板沃尔夫（Wolff）表示，将拉塞尔（Russell）的合同延长至2025年之后是首要任务。
我认为我们去年已经说得非常清楚了，（维斯塔潘）也说过同样的话，我们需要专注于我们的车手阵容，我们需要做到最好，沃尔夫在周四的墨尔本说道。
如果我在一段良好的关系中，我不会在外部调情，今年也是一样。所以，目前没有任何计划，可以说是在雷达之外，我并不打算改变对这些人的关注，并确保乔治很快能获得一份（续约）合同，并且我们在最后的事情上达成一致。
未来将有大量决策待定
在迈凯伦与澳大利亚车手奥斯卡·皮亚斯特里续约之后，沃尔夫未来车手阵容的焦点本周得以明确，而这一续约使得皮亚斯特里在2027年预期的下一场重要车手洗牌中得以脱颖而出。
我们（和拉塞尔）在几周前聊过，关于什么时候联络才算是合适的时机，而我‘无论是否过于天真’，是一个说到做到的人，沃尔夫说。
这三人（包括替补车手瓦特利·博塔斯）是我想与梅赛德斯一起前进的组合，我对此毫无疑虑。我猜我们在夏天之前会找到时间。
拉塞尔（Russell）是梅赛德斯（Mercedes）的老牌门徒，他在2022年加入车队之前，在威廉姆斯（Williams）车队度过了三年时光。他非常渴望继续留在银色的梅赛德斯车队。
罗素说：“我们有着长期的合作关系，并建立了深厚的信任。我们的目标是将梅赛德斯带回巅峰，努力赢得比赛和锦标赛。老实说，在这个运动中，表现才是最好的证明。”
汉密尔顿说：“这是我生命中最激动人心的时期。”
在墨尔本，汉密尔顿明确表示他已经向前看，在梅赛德斯车队创下纪录的时期之后，这位七次F1世界冠军正享受在法拉利的生活，并准备首次与Scuderia车队一起出赛。
汉密尔顿（Hamilton）自2007年至2024年整个F1职业生涯中一直由梅赛德斯（Mercedes）提供动力，但今年他意外地转投法拉利（Ferrari），这一转变是在2023年与梅赛德斯的谈判后发生的，当时梅赛德斯向他提供了更短的任期以保障未来的运营。
汉密尔顿在2023年8月签署了一份一加一（含选项年）的合约，但去年1月他迅速改变了主意，决定从2025年开始加入跃马（Ferrari）车队。
这位经验丰富的英国人一直非常享受在马拉内罗的每一刻。
汉密尔顿在周四表示：“你从不同的角度看待事物，这既令人兴奋又充满挑战。这绝对是我一生中最激动人心的时期。我真的很享受这一刻，而且我迫不及待地想明天上车。”
汉密尔顿现在也像是一个再次崭露头角的年轻选手，这次他已经是40岁了，并且拥有105次胜利和104次杆位，这样的记录也是前所未有的。
汉密尔顿说：“我又回到了起点，我真的是在尽我所能地努力。我每周在工厂里待四天，我得到了所有可以用于训练的东西，我不断地挑战自己，试图超越自我，看看自己是否可以更优秀，只是从这次经历中挤出更多的精华。”
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