Toto Wolff has denied that any decision has been made regarding Gwen Lagrue’s future in Formula 1. As the head of Mercedes’ driver development program, Lagrue oversaw the rise of current race drivers George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Now, the Frenchman has been targeted by Red Bull, who view him as the ideal candidate to succeed former advisor Helmut Marko.

The 83-year-old Austrian previously held a similar role in Milton Keynes, managing the inflow and outflow of junior talent over the past two decades—including Max Verstappen. According to British broadcaster BBC, negotiations are ongoing. His potential arrival would mark a major hire for the squad now led by Laurent Mekies, which has lost several high-profile figures in recent times, such as Adrian Newey, Will Courtenay, and Gianpiero Lambiase, among others.

Lagrue has been with Mercedes for a decade and is widely regarded as one of the key architects of the German team’s junior program success. In addition to Russell and Antonelli—who was signed during his karting days at just 11 years old—Lagrue also backed Esteban Ocon and Frederik Vesti. Even Alexander Albon, after being dropped from the Red Bull program in 2016 before returning three years later for his F1 debut with Toro Rosso, received guidance and assistance from Lagrue in securing the budget needed to push his career forward.

“We are talking with Gwen about the future, but nothing is agreed or decided yet,” Wolff stated in an interview attended by GRANDE PRÊMIO. The Silver Arrows team principal assured, however, that the existing academy structure will continue to operate seamlessly if Lagrue departs, with only minor adjustments required.

“Gwen has built a fantastic team. Today, we have about seven, eight, or nine people working on the young driver program, looking after a select group of talents. With Bradley [Lord] stepping into the role of deputy team principal, those responsibilities now need to be defined. We want to do that together with Gwen. We’ll see,” Wolff concluded.

Toto Wolff remained tight-lipped over Gwen Lagrue’s potential departure to Red Bull (Photo: AFP)

A Fórmula 1 volta de 24 a 26 de julho em Budapeste, palco do GP da Hungria, 11ª etapa da temporada 2026.

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