George Russell completed his best year for the Mercedes Formula One team since arriving in 2022 to replace the outgoing Valtteri Bottas. He had already soundly beaten seven tines world champion, Lewis Hamilton in two of their first three seasons together and with untried rookie Kimi Antonelli as his team mate, the British driver once again shone.

He was fourth in the driver standings, an improvement o last seasons 6th place and his tally of 319 points was 74 ahead of the total he achieved in 2024. Russell claimed two victories this year and seven further podium finishes leaving him with more than double the points of his rising star Italian team mate.

Yet the year must have left a bitter taste in the British drivers’ mouth given he was out of contract with the team at the end of the season but his boss Toto Wolff spent much of the summer publicly courting world champion Max Verstappen – whilst sidelining his lead driver to a ‘wait and see’ role in terms of an extension of a deal to race for Mercedes.

 

 

 

Russell “hung out to dry”

F1 veteran racer an Sky commentator was asked ahead of the British Grand Prix whether he felt George was being treated fairly by Mercedes. “No, I don’t think he is,” he replied. “I think that he’s being hung out to dry a little bit.

“He’s doing a brilliant job of leading the Mercedes team. He’s picked up the mantle from Lewis Hamilton very well. It must be super uncomfortable for him, and a bit embarrassing that he’s sitting there waiting. Unless stuff is going on behind the scenes. But if it is, why are they not saying so?”

Almost three months after these comments were made, Mercedes announced that Russel and Antonelli would be retained for 2026, but as the details of the contract for Russell became apparent he had secured just a one year deal. Wolff is becoming infamous in his driver contract negotiations for smoke and mirrors having dressed up a similar arrangement for Lewis Hamilton as a “multi-year contract.”

It was the paddock’s worst kept secret that George had desperately tried to negotiate a true multi-year deal behind the scenes with him even finding it necessary to justify being backed into a corner by Wolff. Some three weeks after his new deal was announced, Russell was keen to point out in an interview with The Telegraph that the months of negotiation had in fact been worthwhile.   

Hamilton on F1 racing 2026: “I’m not sure if you’re going to like it”

 

 

 

George desperate to justify his security

“It is something I haven’t actually said publicly, but the deal is, if I’m performing [next year], we have a specific clause that if I reach [a target], we will automatically renew for 2027,” Russell said. “So my seat for 2027 is in my hands.

“So I’m not being strung along here. We’re not going to be in the same position as we were six months ago. If I perform, and I don’t want to go into details, but if I perform, then 100 per cent I’ll be staying.”

Of course the devil is in the detail as to what level of performance George will need to attain for his ‘guaranteed’ renewal for 2027 to kick in. Then of course there’s always the probability that should Max Verstappen choose to move to Mercedes for the season after next, Mercedes will do what Red Bull did to Sergio Perez and breach their arrangement with Russell, offering him a huge payoff.

Another grist in the mill for George will be the fact that his rookie team mate seemed to find his feet across the closing race weekends in 2025. He claimed podium finishes ahead of his experienced team mate in both Brazil and along the Strip in Las Vegas.

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Toto Wolff admits to a “mistake” – kind of

But it seems some damage has been done between Russell and Toto Wolff, with the Mercedes team boss being forced to admit his very public courting of Verstappen had destabilised the team. “The truth is, you’ve got to learn from the mistake. There wasn’t any on-purpose flirting. It’s just a coincidence. It was clear that you needed to have that conversation.

“We ended up in the same place in the summer, which obviously doesn’t look good and is destabilising for everyone. But that’s the past. Now, everything is cleared, contracts are signed, and we move forward.”

But is that the reality? Wouldn’t Toto Wolff sign Max Verstappen in a heartbeat should Mercedes prove to be the dominant car in 2026? And which of the team’s current drivers would be forced to step aside?

Whilst admitting his mistake which created ripples through the team’s operations, Wolff attempted to placate Russell’s ego by surmising what may happen should Verstappen wish to join the Mercedes AMG F1 team.

Vassuer gives hamilton an ultimatum

 

 

 

George placated by Mercedes boss flattery

“[Pairing Russell with Verstappen] would certainly be good entertainment for everyone. But we don’t want to create any rumours here. Kimi and George is what we want to do in the future and going forward. And it’s a good line-up.” Bah Humbug says the TJ13 editorial team. Wolff’s heart belongs to his young Italian driver.

Kimi is the chosen one and the Linus blanket which Toto Wolff is clinging to having turned down the opportunity to sign a young Max Verstappen for the 2015 season. That omission has come back to haunt the Mercedes boss for almost half a decade, with Max beating his champion driver year after year since the showdown in the desert back in 2021.

Kimi Antonelli unwittingly will be bearing the burden of Wolff’s misjudgement a decade ago, but a solid sophomore season should keep his fortunes ahead of Russell should the decision need to be made about which one has to leave.

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Like Damon Hill, sacked after winning the F1 title

Speaking on the end of season Sky podcast, ex-F1 racer and driver expert commentator Karun Chandhok believes the die at Mercedes is firmly cast. “Look at it from his [Russell’s] point of view, right,” he said. “They brought in the wonderkind and he [Russell] has done everything right from his perspective. He’s delivering results, he’s staying focused, he has grown to that team leader status, he’s beating his teammate.

“And yet his job is being put in question. It must’ve been a difficult place to be. I felt like he didn’t let it affect his on-track performance. Yeah, I mean I think that’s true [Wolff loves Antonelli and Verstappen more].”

Should Mercedes deliver the best power unit for 2026 as paddock rumours expect, then George Russell has a single season to make his bid for the F1 drivers’ title. Despite his podium finishes late in the year, Antonelli will not be up to speed with his team mate across an entire season, as Oscar Piastri proved this year at McLaren – experience really does count.

Even were George to become world champion, the feel about Wolff’s view of the future is akin to that of Frank Williams in 1996. England’s favourite son, the offspring of one of motorsports greatest legends, Damon Hill won the F1 championship that year and was promptly sacked for the following season.

 

 

 

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