Toto Wolff comes clean on George Russell's future at Mercedes

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has said that the team is intending to confirm George Russell on a long-term contract alongside Kimi Antonelli. The young British driver has come through the ranks with the German squad's backing.

After spending multiple years proving himself at Williams, Russell got his promotion to Mercedes in 2022, and since then he has become a pivotal part of the team.

With Lewis Hamilton leaving the team at the end of 2024, Russell has become the team leader as Antonelli slowly grows into his role. At the same time, however, unlike every other top driver in F1, Russell doesn't have a contract for 2026. His current contract with Mercedes ends at the end of 2025, and nothing has been negotiated beyond that.

With Max Verstappen's relationship with Red Bull on thin ice, there have been suggestions that Toto Wolff is waiting to see if there is a development on that front and hence has not signed an extension with George Russell just yet.

Talking to Motorsport, Wolff gave no such impression as he claimed that the team intends to sign the driver on a long-term contract. He said:

"Yes, absolutely, I mean it is almost a secret ... how do you say? An open secret? An open secret. We intend to confirm our drivers for the long-term, things are going in the right direction".

Emphasizing that it's only about finalizing the details, Wolff added:

"Yes, exactly, but in a contract it is not only defined that a driver will drive a single-seater, there are also other aspects that need to be discussed, in the interest of the team and the driver himself. It is a structured process and it takes a bit of time”.

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Mercedes boss on George Russell being underrated

With Lewis Hamilton alongside him, George Russell had been in the shadow to a certain extent in the last three years. With the 7x legend now at Ferrari, it does appear that the British driver is getting the recognition he deserves. Talking about how Russell has been a bit underrated in the paddock, Toto Wolff refuted the idea as he said:

“Certainly not for us. He is a top driver and we are lucky to have him in the team. The decision to take Kimi into the team also came because we knew we had George as a point of reference, we knew he would tell us where the car would be and obviously he is the point of reference for Kimi."

George Russell has started the 2025 F1 season with a couple of P3 finishes. The driver will be looking to build on it as we get back to racing in Japan next weekend.