Wolff, who tried to sign Verstappen before his Formula 1 debut a decade ago, revealed that recent discussions with the four-time world champion underlined the mutual respect between them.

“Max will have his reasons why he’s staying at Red Bull,” Wolff told media during the Dutch Grand Prix. “What he said is he owes them. And it’s not the first moment you can walk away when the team doesn’t perform.

“I think things have fallen in place like they are today, and who knows what happens in the future. But the integrity that he has shown to his team and the integrity that I and the team have shown to our drivers, I think that’s important.”

The Austrian said it was his duty to at least explore the possibility, even if Verstappen ultimately chose loyalty to Red Bull.

“It is my obligation as a team principal here to explore what a four-time world champion is going to do in the future and what his situation is,” Wolff said. “And any driver out there will say that Max, as it stands, is probably the best.

“That’s not a secret. And every team needs to go for the best driver.”

Wolff stressed that timing is often decisive in F1, leaving the door to a potential Verstappen-Mercedes link-up neither fully open nor closed.

“It never came to the situation where it was like: ‘Okay, we are going to do this’. Neither on Max’s side, nor on my side,” he said.

“Could that mean our paths will never cross because the timings are wrong? Well, that can happen, yeah. But that could be a 50 percent [chance].

“The other 50 percent is that we are racing together at a certain stage in our careers, if it is right for both sides.”

Mercedes’ current line-up of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli remains the focus of the team’s future, but Wolff made clear he is not afraid to pair the very best drivers if circumstances align.

“We need the two best drivers in the car,” he said. “I’m not afraid of having the two best in the car.

“We’ve had that situation with Nico [Rosberg] and Lewis, and that is going to continue to be my plan for the future, whatever the driver combination can be.”

With Verstappen hinting he may not stay in F1 for the long term, Wolff suggested 2027 — the season after the next major regulation change — could be when opportunities align.

“We get on personally so well,” Wolff said. “When you’re on the same wavelength, it just feels easy and that’s what I see in the relationship.”