沃尔夫调侃维斯塔潘：梅赛德斯拥有他参加最重要的比赛
在赞德福特赛道的传统媒体见面会上，梅赛德斯领队托托·沃尔夫开玩笑称，尽管维斯塔潘与红牛有合同，但梅赛德斯拥有他参加最重要的比赛，指的是双方联合的GT3项目。
托托·沃尔夫开麦克斯·维斯塔潘红牛合同的玩笑：梅赛德斯在最重要的比赛中拥有他
沃尔夫表示梅赛德斯和维斯塔潘的道路已经在交汇，只是不是在F1赛场上。他开玩笑说，这个联合GT3项目意味着梅赛德斯在年度一些最大的比赛中让维斯塔潘坐进赛车，包括纽博格林24小时耐力赛
3号梅赛德斯-AMG维斯塔潘车队，梅赛德斯AMG GT3 EVO：麦克斯·维斯塔潘、丹尼尔·胡恩卡德拉、朱尔斯·古农、卢卡斯·奥尔
按照惯例，梅赛德斯会在赞德沃特与沃尔夫以及荷兰媒体代表举行一次特别媒体会议。近年来，这些圆桌会议常常产生一些引人注目的言论，也让梅赛德斯车队的成员们感到十分有趣。
例如，两年前在赞德沃特，沃尔夫基本上确认了安东内利晋升一级方程式的消息，尽管正式公告原计划要等到一周后在蒙扎才发布。
去年，沃尔夫公开谈及与维斯塔潘关于可能转会梅赛德斯的谈判，当话题转到几张人工智能生成的两人合影时，引起了一些惊讶。沃尔夫还开起了关于自己和维斯塔潘的人工智能生成图片的玩笑，其中包括在网上流传的不雅换脸图片。
在今年这次对话开始时，沃尔夫显然还记得所有那些时刻，并笑着说：“你知道的，让我先进入状态，然后我会给你来几句妙语！”
达契亚、维斯塔潘与北环（Nordschleife）的“英雄之战”
#3 梅赛德斯-AMG 车队（Verstappen 比赛），梅赛德斯 AMG GT3 EVO：马克斯·维斯塔潘、丹尼尔·容卡德拉、朱尔斯·古农、卢卡斯·奥尔
沃尔夫随后谈到了维斯塔潘与红牛签订的新合同。据这位梅赛德斯车队领队表示，去年车迷转会（指维斯塔潘转投梅赛德斯的可能性）的机会比过去几个月更大，这一点早在今年春天就已经变得很清楚了。
在去年荷兰站的媒体活动上，沃尔夫曾表示，他觉得两人的道路终有一天会交汇。当Motorsport.com问到维斯塔潘与红牛的新合同是否已明确改变了这一想法时，沃尔夫澄清说，在他看来，两人的道路其实已经在交汇了——只是不在F1而已。
“嗯，我们的道路其实已经在GT赛车领域有过交集了。我想，当我们在一年半前共同制定那个项目时，它看起来希望渺茫，”沃尔夫说。“之所以说希望渺茫，是因为红牛怎么可能允许维斯塔潘去驾驶一辆梅赛德斯的GT3赛车呢？
“但他们思想很开放，我们对此心存感激，因为这个项目取得了成功，也就是红牛与梅赛德斯的这个项目。我们让两个品牌和维斯塔潘展开了合作，很高兴看到它取得了成功。”
#3 梅赛德斯-AMG 维斯塔潘车队，梅赛德斯 AMG GT3 EVO：马克斯·维斯塔潘、丹尼尔·永卡德拉、朱尔·古农、卢卡斯·奥尔
沃尔夫随后开玩笑说，这样一来，梅赛德斯就能在他心目中的“真正英雄赛事”里得到维斯塔潘——也就是在北环举办的耐力赛，其中纽博格林24小时耐力赛是绝对的重头戏。
“没错！你知道的，在F1里我们有巨大的砂石缓冲区和平坦的逃逸区。真正的赛车是在那些穿行于树林之间、翻过坡顶、经过盲弯、有起有伏的赛道上，而且还要和达契亚同场竞技！”
沃尔夫说这最后几句话时，指的是奥利的车库车队（Olli's Garage 比赛），该车队驾驶一辆达契亚·洛根（Dacia Logan）参加在绿色地狱举办的标志性的24小时耐力赛。
提到那辆达契亚之后，沃尔夫立刻转向在场的新闻官，告诉他梅赛德斯应该邀请达契亚车组来看一场真正的F1大奖赛。
“不，我是认真的，他们是英雄！”沃尔夫笑着说。所有这些元素共同造就了北环（Nordschleife）的魔力，沃尔夫也很享受看到维斯塔潘驾驶温沃德梅赛德斯-AMG GT3出场。
“在北环比赛时，你要在白天和黑夜、雾天和雨天以及冰雪中与大约150辆赛车同场竞技。所以显然这些比赛没有一场是24小时的，但那些才是真正的英雄赛事。”
维斯塔潘在梅赛德斯能否获得同样的自由？
维斯塔潘和沃尔夫是否会在一级方程式中产生交集，后者不敢预测，原因很简单——没人知道两三年后的车手市场会是什么样子。
“未来会怎样，我不知道，但心态就是我刚才说的那样。我不知道我们的道路会在哪里交汇。是卡丁车，是GT赛事，还是一级方程式，或者未来其他一些合作项目？”
“我认为也许有一天会发生，但不一定是以马克斯驾驶梅赛德斯一级方程式赛车的方式。”
现在梅赛德斯已经拥有了未来之星安东内利，后者可能也没有必要了。
安德烈亚·基米·安东内利，梅赛德斯，乔治·拉塞尔，梅赛德斯，托托·沃尔夫，梅赛德斯
另一个问题是，维斯塔潘在另一支一级方程式车队是否还能享有同样的自由去追求赛车以外的项目。
“我认为每支车队都不一样，但我正在努力做的，是找出在我们的体系结构中究竟是什么能让车手跑得快。”
“我们需要提供什么样的框架来释放车手的最佳表现，其中一部分显然是车手的身心健康。这也是我本人非常关注的一点。”
英文原文
Toto Wolff jokes about Max Verstappen's Red Bull deal: Mercedes has him for the most important races
Wolff says Mercedes and Verstappen's paths are already crossing, just not in F1. He jokes the joint GT3 project means Mercedes has Verstappen in the car for some of the biggest races of the year, including the Nurburgring 24 Hours
#3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing, Mercedes AMG GT3 EVO: Max Verstappen, Daniel Juncadella, Jules Gounon, Lucas Auer
As is tradition, Mercedes organises a special media session with Wolff and representatives of the Dutch press at Zandvoort. In recent years, those roundtables have often produced some eye-catching comments, much to the amusement of Mercedes team members as well.
Two years ago at Zandvoort, for example, Wolff more or less confirmed Kimi Antonelli's F1 promotion, even though the formal announcement was not scheduled until a week later at Monza.
Last year, Wolff spoke openly about the talks with Verstappen over a potential move to Mercedes and caused some surprise when the subject turned to several AI-generated pictures of the pair. Wolff also joked about AI-generated images of himself and Verstappen, including explicit deepfakes circulating online.
At the start of this year’s conversation, Wolff clearly still remembered all those moments and laughed: “You know, let me get into the groove and then I'll give you a few punchlines!”
Dacia, Verstappen and "hero races" at the Nordschleife
#3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing, Mercedes AMG GT3 EVO: Max Verstappen, Daniel Juncadella, Jules Gounon, Lucas Auer
Wolff then addressed Verstappen’s new Red Bull deal. According to the Mercedes team principal, the chances of a move were greater last year than they have been over the past few months, something that already became clear in the spring.
During last year’s Dutch media session, Wolff said he felt their paths would cross at some point. Asked by Motorsport.com whether Verstappen’s new Red Bull contract has definitively changed that feeling, Wolff clarified that, in his view, their paths are already crossing – just not in F1.
“Well, the paths have crossed already with the GT racing. I think when we jointly developed that programme a year and a half ago it seemed a long shot,” Wolff said. “It seemed to be a long shot because could Red Bull ever allow Max in a Mercedes GT3?
“But they were open-minded and we are thankful for that because the project has been a success, the Red Bull Mercedes project. We have this joint cooperation between the two brands and Max, and it is nice to see that it’s successful.”
#3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing, Mercedes AMG GT3 EVO: Max Verstappen, Daniel Juncadella, Jules Gounon, Lucas Auer
Wolff then joked that Mercedes therefore gets Verstappen for what he considers the “real hero races” — the endurance events on the Nordschleife, with the Nurburgring 24 Hours as the absolute highlight.
“Exactly! You know, we have these things here in F1 with massive gravel traps and flat run-off zones. The real racing is where you go through the trees and up and downs over crests and blind corners. And against the Dacia!”
With those final words, Wolff is referring to Olli’s Garage Racing, which competes with a Dacia Logan in the iconic 24-hour race in the Green Hell.
After mentioning the Dacia, Wolff immediately turned to the press officer present, telling him that Mercedes should invite the Dacia crew to an actual F1 Grand Prix.
“No, seriously, they are heroes!” Wolff laughed. All of those things contribute to the magic of the Nordschleife, with Wolff enjoying seeing Verstappen behind the wheel of the Winward Mercedes-AMG GT3.
“You race against 150 cars on the Nordschleife in day and night, fog and rain, and ice. So obviously none of these races are 24 hours, but those are the real hero races.”
Could Verstappen ever get the same freedom at Mercedes?
Whether Verstappen and Wolff’s paths will ever cross in F1 is something the latter does not dare to predict, if only because nobody knows what the driver market will look like in two or three years’ time.
“And what the future holds, I don't know, but the mindset is what I have just said. I don't know where the paths are going to cross. Will it be in karting, will it be in GTs, or will it be in F1 or some other joint projects in the future?
“I think that may happen one day, but maybe not necessarily with Max in a Mercedes Formula 1 car.”
The latter may not be necessary either, now that Mercedes already has its star of the future in Kimi Antonelli.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, George Russell, Mercedes, Toto Wolff, Mercedes
Another question is whether Verstappen would receive the same freedom to pursue outside racing projects at another F1 team.
“I think every team is different, but I think what I am trying to do is to identify what it is that makes the driver fast within our structure.
“What kind of framework do we need to provide to extract the best performance of the driver, and part of that is obviously the well-being. And that is something that I am very keen on as well.”
Motorsport.com ·
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