Toto Wolff gives first major hint at targeting Max Verstappen for 2027 as George Russell's contract delay at Mercedes is discussed

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has given his first major hint at targeting Max Verstappen for 2027 as George Russell's contract delay comes under the spotlight. The Austrian has addressed the delay and said that the team has to keep its options open for the medium- and long-term future as the negotiations continue with the Brit.

The 2025 F1 silly season was never expected to be this intriguing. We were heading into the season after all, but two teams had their lineups changed. The only prominent name whose contract extension had not been signed and was looking at an expiry was George Russell.

The British driver's contract was coming to an end in 2025, but looking at how George Russell had taken over the leadership role at the team, this was considered to be nothing more than a formality.

All of this, however, changed when Max Verstappen expressed interest in Mercedes. Even though the Dutch driver has now committed to a future at Red Bull for 2026, he could potentially be available for 2027.

This is precisely what appears to be the sticking point, as even though Verstappen is off the market, George Russell's contract extension at Mercedes has not been announced.

While the whispers and signs have pointed towards Mercedes angling for Max Verstappen beyond 2026, Toto Wolff, for the first time, hinted towards the team looking at keeping its options open when discussing the delay in George Russell's contract extension. He told Formula.hu,

"It was always obvious to me that George was part of our future, I told him that, he knows it. But, you know, it's a tough sport. Sometimes you have to keep your options open and look carefully at what the future could be in the medium and long term. In this sport, you have to deal with the pressure,"

Mercedes boss lauds George Russell's progress as a driver

George Russell has been a Mercedes junior even before he joined the senior team. He was part of the academy and did three years with Williams, where he proved his credentials. While that was certainly the case, Wolff further praised the Brit when he claimed that Russell is now one of the superstars of the grid. He said,

"It's great to see that. He's developed wonderfully as a Mercedes junior at Williams. He was very fast when he arrived at Mercedes and then he developed alongside Lewis."

He added,

"Last year he was the fastest and now he's become the lead driver completely seamlessly. He's really fast and has exceeded what the car can do on many occasions. You can see how much when the car is difficult to drive. For me George is a superstar among the current drivers,"

Toto Wolff gave his first hint that the team would want to keep its options open for 2026, and that's the bone of contention when it comes to George Russell, which is something that is going to make the entire contract delay even more interesting.

When Russell will get his extension and how long the contract is going to be are critical questions, and it would be interesting to see what the answers are going to be for those questions.