Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has praised George Russell’s performances this season, but hinted he may be fighting a losing battle to dissuade him from signing Max Verstappen for the 2026 season.
Ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring on Thursday, the Briton claimed Verstappen has been in talks with Mercedes after revealing his contract talks with the Silver Arrows had been delayed.
That admission has only fuelled speculation that Verstappen could leave Red Bull to replace Russell, despite the the four-time world champion’s strong insistence that he will be there next season and potentially beyond.
When asked about Russell’s comments by F1 press conference host Tom Clarkson and what the 27-year-old needs to do to impress him in light of the Verstappen rumours resurfacing, Wolff replied: “Nothing.
“He [Russell] has been part of our program since 10 years or so. He’s always performed to the expectations that we have set, and he’s continuing to do so.
“We haven’t given him a car to win the world championship in the last three years, so that’s completely on us. And the times the car has been good, he has been winning races and you can see today, he’s always there. You know that when he’s getting in the car, he’s going to extract what is in the car.
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“Having said that, in the early summer, those kind of contract discussions start to end up being accelerated in the media, or accelerated because of a lack of information. Well, what I have been doing the last 30 years – in a normal business – contract discussions are not being held in town halls, so everything is normal, everything goes to plan.”
Wolff coy over Russell talks
Verstappen is under contract with Red Bull until 2028 but reportedly has a clause written in his deal that allows him to negotiate an early exit, one of which may be related to Helmut Marko’s future.
As for Russell, links with Aston Martin refuse to die down following his impressive start to the season. The former Williams driver is keeping apace with Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris and Verstappen in what is looking like a four-way fight for the Drivers’ Championship.
Russell’s contract is due to expire at the end of the current campaign and the Briton has seemingly responded to the pressure over his future, delivering a race win in Canada last time out and five podium finishes in total in 2025. He also went quickest in the first free practice session of the Austrian Grand Prix.
And, despite his obvious interest in Verstappen, Wolff suggested retaining Russell would be his first priority: “He needs to be top of the list because he’s a race winner with us,” he added.
“He’s a Mercedes junior and he’s been with the team for a long time.”
However, the Austrian was somewhat tight-lipped when he was quizzed about Russell’s negotiations with other teams: “Again, we are going into territory that I don’t want to discuss out here.
“But people talk, people explore, and most important is that in our organisation, we are transparent. But it doesn’t change a millimetre of my opinion of George, his abilities or anything else.”
