Wolff explains Russell contract situation amid Verstappen ‘conversations’

Toto Wolff has insisted that “everything is normal” in terms of George Russell’s contract discussions, though the Mercedes boss also admitted that some talks “you just need to have” amid Russell’s suggestion that the squad are having “conversations” with Max Verstappen.

When quizzed about where the process of agreeing a deal with the Silver Arrows currently stood during Thursday’s media day in Austria, Russell stated that he was more focused on performance than “pressing massively” to get something signed, despite conceding that “it does help if there was pen on paper”.

The Briton went on to tell Sky Sports F1 that he could understand if the team were speaking to drivers such as Verstappen, having said: “As Mercedes, they want to be back on top, and if you're going to be back on top you need to make sure you've got the best drivers, the best engineers, the best pit crew, and that's what Mercedes are chasing.

"So, it's only normal that conversations with the likes of Verstappen are ongoing. But from my side, if I'm performing as I'm doing, what have I got to be concerned about? There are two seats in every Formula 1 team."

However, with Wolff and Russell both having previously suggested that they want to continue their partnership, Wolff asserted that this was still the case when speaking to media on Friday, whilst recognising that the team still need to have certain conversations.

“[We’re] absolutely keen to continue the relationship,” said Wolff. “Everything goes its normal course – we have agreed on timings and we’re absolutely within that framework, and it’s clear silly season starts now. Some conversations you just simply need to have, but it doesn’t change my fundamental opinion about how the team is going to go forwards.”

When asked if Russell – whose current deal runs until the end of 2025 – was at the top of Mercedes’ list for 2026, Wolff responded: “Well, he needs to be top of the list because he's a race winner with us. He's a Mercedes junior. He's been with the team for a long time.”

Wolff was then quizzed on Russell’s comments about “conversations” with Verstappen and whether, as such, he would expect the 27-year-old to speak to other teams as well.

“We are going into territory that I don't want to discuss out here,” the Team Principal explained. “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.”

Wolff also added that he had no issue with Russell speaking openly about the situation, commenting: “I like what George says, and I'm always supportive of the driver. There's no such thing as saying things I wouldn't want him to say.

“I think we are very transparent in the team for what we do, what we plan, and we've been like that since I was put in charge. So that's not the issue. At the moment, clearly, you need to explore what's happening in the future, but it doesn't change anything of what I said before about George or about Kimi [Antonelli], about the line-up that I'm extremely happy to have.”

In terms of whether there was a deadline for the possibility of Verstappen joining Mercedes, Wolff said: “You make it sound like we have been asking when do you want to join and here are the terms. That's not how it is and how it works.

“I come back to my previous answer. I just want to have the conversations behind closed doors, not town halls. We have two drivers that have been in our programme since a long time, drivers that I'm perfectly happy to have, drivers that will do great in the future of the team. So it's a bit different, the situation.”

Russell and Verstappen – who has a contract to race for Red Bull through to the end of 2028 – have shared some contentious moments on track, including a controversial collision at the Spanish Grand Prix that saw Verstappen receive a 10-second time penalty.

Pushed on whether the two drivers could ever race together at Mercedes, Wolff suggested that he would not rule such a pairing out.

“I can imagine every line-up. I had [Nico] Rosberg and [Lewis] Hamilton fighting for a World Championship, so everything else afterwards is easy,” the Austrian reflected. “There's pros and cons of having two drivers fighting each other hard. We've seen examples where that functioned and other examples where it didn't.”