George Russell: Mercedes boss Toto Wolff gives timeline for 2026 driver line-up decision amid Max Verstappen links | F1 News
Toto Wolff says that Mercedes would make a decision on which leads for them during the 2026 season in the August summer holidays 1 in August in the middle of fresh links with Max Verstapun.
The emphasis on the Mercedes pilots range for next year has been strengthened at the Austrian Grand Prix after George Russell revealed in an interview with Sky Sports F1 That the team spoke in Verstappen, the quadruple world champion in the title of Red Bull.
Russell and his teammate Recruit Kimi Antonelli should not know if they will be kept by Mercedes for 2026.
The team’s boss, Wolff, later confirmed that there were “camera conversations” to explore “what a quadruple world champion will do in the future – and it can be for a long time in the future”. However, expressing his happiness with his current matching, Wolff also said that it was even more likely that Russell would lead for them in 2026 than Verstappen.
Red Bull, meanwhile, described Mercedes’ comments on their driver as “just the noise” with Verstappen on a contract with them which works until 2028, although which contains performance clauses to allow a previous outing in certain scenarios.
Speaking after Sunday’s race, Wolff said Mercedes was comfortable with the situation in which they were, but said that a last call in their 2026 range would be made relatively soon. There are three other races in Great Britain, Belgium and Hungary to pass over the next five weeks before the F1 season stopped for almost a month.
“You must be respectable towards stakeholders in this whole process – organization, drivers, everyone,” Wolff said on the calendar of a decision.
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Protruding facts of an exciting Austrian Grand Prix in the Red Bull ring
“You must understand the way to follow. I don’t want to be sadistic by letting a driver wait or not make decisions when it should be taken.
“I think we are in a good space, we are [in] June, there are a lot of discussions around.
“I was opened with, transparent. And at a certain stadium, in the coming months, until the summer break, everything will be done.”
When asked if he meant that a decision would be made at the start or at the end of the summer vacation – which takes place after the Hungarian Grand Prix on August 3 at the start of the Dutch Grand Prix weekend on August 29 – Wolff joked: “Maybe in the middle!”
“ You have to understand what others do – the Mercedes view
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Toto Wolff revealed that Mercedes discusses with Max Verstappen
Wolff had spoken to Sky Sports F1 on Saturday at the Red Bull Ring where they decided to decide their alignment for next season, the first year of the redesign of the major sports rules:
“I think that when you look at the situation we have with Kimi and George, we have a perfect range that we appreciate a lot and that we believe to be the future.
“But, at the same time, there is a quadruple world champion who must decide what he is going to do in the future and it’s just, as a team director, you have to see where it’s going.
“But I think I give it very little probability that it will happen.”
Wolff did he mean that there was “little probability” forever or just for 2026?
“You don’t know what’s going to be in three or five years, which is why you have to look at what should be taken into account in the long term.”
And what was to go in their favor in the middle of a calendar for a last call?
“Nothing needs in a way to come favorable for us, because with George and Kimi is what we want to be and what we want to continue.
“But to plan the good for the long -term future, you must understand what others do.”
“ I think Max was quite bored ” – The Red Bull view
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The boss of Red Bull, Christian Horner, is confident Max Verstappen will remain with the team and that he will not replace George Russell in Mercedes
Christian Horner, a counterpart of Wolff in Red Bull, was questioned later after having qualified Sky Sports for his response to Mercedes remarks:
“It’s a lot of noise. I think Max is quite bored. We are very clear with the contract we have with Max until 2028.
“So everything is completely speculative that is said, but we tend not to pay too much attention to it.”
Had it been done to destabilize Red Bull at their home grand prix, perhaps?
“I can imagine that George is frustrated, he has not yet received a contract, but it is between him and his team.
“The situation with Max, we clearly know where we are and obviously like Max.
“Everything is subject to noise and, obviously, in any contract, it remains confidential between the parties.”
“ You are looking at the performance of the best teams ” – The Pundit View next year
George Russell and Max Verstappen had a fractive relationship on and off track in the last 12 months
Karun Chandhok of Sky Sports F1 gave his point of view on what he thinks really happen:
“We do not know what are the thresholds in terms of being able to get out of the Red Bull contract, but if you were Max Verstappen, you would watch the performance of the best teams next year, then choose where you want to go to the future.
“Because I think one of the gate teams would like to have a max in the car. He is the driver outside recent times.
“And on the side of Max, the new generation of food rules and units could set the tone for the next five or six years, as what happened with Lewis in 2014.
“For next year, there is a little current dance where people are trying to assess the situation. And then for 2027, the market could go completely crazy.”
British Sky Sports F1 GP schedule
Thursday July 3
2 p.m.: Pilot press conference
6 p.m.: The F1 show special
Friday July 4
8:45 am: F3 Practical
9:55 am: F2 Practical
12 noon: British GP Practice One (the session starts at 12:30 p.m.)
1:55 p.m.: F3 Qualification
2:50 p.m.: F2 qualification
3:35 p.m.: British GP Practice two (the session starts at 4 p.m.)
5:15 p.m.: The F1 show
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Return to some of the most dramatic moments over the years at the British Grand Prix
Saturday July 5
9:10 am: Sprint F3
11:15 p.m.: GP British GP Trois (session starts at 11:30 am)
1:10 p.m.: F2 Sprint
2:15 p.m.: British qualification accumulation GP *
3 p.m.: British GP Qualify *
4:55 p.m.: F4 Race 1
5:40 p.m.: Ted qualification notebook
Sunday July 6
8:15 am: F4 Race 2
9:25 am: F3 functionality breed
11 am: F2 Race Feature
1:30 p.m.: Grand Prix Sunday: British GP Build-Up *
3 p.m.: The British Grand Prix *
5 p.m.: Damy flag: British reaction GP *
6 p.m.: Ted * notebook
* Also on the main event of Sky Sports
The next stage of the Formula 1 season in 2025 is the big, the British Grand Prix in Silverstone – Live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Showcase with coverage from Thursday to Sunday at 3 p.m. Stream Sky Sports with now – no contract, cancel at any time.
