Toto Wolff, the team boss of Mercedes

Wolff explains why Mercedes has not finalized the deal with Russell

15:45, 29 Aug

byNicole Mulder

Toto Wolff has again emphasized that George Russell's contract extension is only a formality. During the summer break, negotiations were held off, but according to the Mercedes team boss, discussions have now resumed.

During the Dutch Grand Prix weekend in Zandvoort, Wolff was asked about the ongoing negotiations with Russell.

"George is a Mercedes driver since his junior years in Mercedes management, and we clearly know what we expect from each other, what we want. It's a formality," says Wolff.

According to the Austrian, the negotiations are not just about the duration of the contract or salary, but especially about the conditions for Russell to perform at his best.

Wolff discusses negotiations with Russell

"But at the same time, it's important to discuss even the slightest details. How can we extract the most performance out of George? What is it that we need to optimize on marketing days, for example?

"And it's not the amount of marketing days, but it's simply talking about a structure that helps him to perform at his best", he continues.

According to Wolff, the summer break was consciously used to let each other be.

"And these are the things we haven't discussed over the summer because we felt we needed to just get out of each other's face for a while.

"And we're going to pick these discussions up. But we have already picked up the discussions."

Mercedes Media

Russell previously expressed his contract situation to GPblog among others. He explained why no signatures have been made yet and why in his opinion there is no rush.

He also said that during the summer break Wolff was willing to continue negotiations, but that he himself didn't see the point at the time.

While Max Verstappen confirmed before the summer break that he will stay with Red Bull, Mercedes has yet to announce its line-up for 2026. However, it is clear that the team are sticking with Russell and Kimi Antonelli, who is gaining experience this season in Formula 1 and is seen as the future of the team.