F1 stars gather in Sardinia: Max Verstappen seen with Toto Wolff on luxury yacht. Max Verstappen was spotted with Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff aboard his yacht in Sardinia.

The Formula 1 paddock enjoys some downtime in Sardinia, with Verstappen spotted alongside Wolff

After the back-to-back races in late July and early August in Belgium and Hungary, Formula 1 has entered its customary summer break, a period in August during which team headquarters are also closed for roughly 15 days. This year’s closure began at the end of last week.

One of the most popular destinations for drivers and team principals is, unsurprisingly, Sardinia, and in particular the glamorous Costa Smeralda. Summer 2025 is no exception. At Cala di Volpe, in the Gallura region, several high-profile figures have been spotted, including Charles Leclerc aboard his personal yacht and walking the marina. However, it was the photos shared by the long-running motorsport magazine Autosprint on its social media channels that stirred the most gossip, showing Max Verstappen together with Toto Wolff aboard the luxurious ‘Mangusta’ yacht, owned by the Mercedes team principal.

Max Verstappen has already confirmed that he will remain with Red Bull Racing through the 2026 season, but his continued stay at the Milton Keynes team was not entirely the result of a personal choice. The conditions that could have triggered a contract exit clause with Red Bull were never met. At the end of July, the four-time World Champion was positioned third in the Drivers’ Championship, holding a small but decisive points advantage over George Russell, making a move impractical.

Several insiders from the paddock have described Verstappen’s ‘non-move’ as a smart, patient strategy, allowing him to gauge the balance of power on the grid in 2026 and potentially join the team that proves to be the most competitive on track, setting him up to resume winning in 2027. Meanwhile, Mercedes is expected to confirm the contracts of George Russell and rising star Andrea Kimi Antonelli, with fans and pundits alike curious about the duration of the agreements between the Brackley-based team and its drivers.

In recent days, the meetings between Verstappen and Wolff have sparked more than a little online speculation. Some social media users have even created AI-generated images and videos, falsely simulating encounters that never occurred, such as meetings between Max Verstappen and Toto Wolff on the Austrian manager’s private jet. These fanciful creations have added fuel to the gossip surrounding the summer Sardinian getaway.