News Summary
- Toto Wolff has revealed that George Russell’s contract renewal for the 2027 season was agreed well before Max Verstappen’s decision to stay at Red Bull became public — Mercedes simply never issued a formal announcement.
- Wolff also addressed the photos of him and Verstappen together during their summer break in Sardinia, which reignited speculation about a possible future move to Mercedes, saying the encounter was “completely unintentional.”
- Despite acknowledging Russell has struggled to adapt to Mercedes’ car under F1’s new 2026 regulations, Wolff said he still rates the Briton among the sport’s best and believes he can fight for the title once he settles in.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff admitted that George Russell has been struggling to adapt to the team’s car, which changed considerably this year under Formula 1’s new regulations. Wolff still predicts the Briton fighting for the title once he works through those difficulties, rating him among the sport’s best, and he rejected the idea that he had sought out Max Verstappen during the championship’s summer break, when the two were together in Sardinia.
“As the underdog, things are a little easier,” Wolff told Austrian outlet oe24. He pointed to Russell’s bad luck in Madrid with the timing of a virtual Safety Car, and described his driver as going through an important evolution right now — one Russell himself sees as a challenge to adapt to the team’s new characteristics. If he manages that, Wolff added, he can fight for the championship too, since he remains among the very best on the grid.
A longtime admirer of Max Verstappen, Wolff confirmed that he had renewed Russell’s contract for the 2027 F1 season before Red Bull had even announced the Dutchman’s decision to stay — a strong vote of confidence in the Briton. “It happened a long time ago. We just didn’t put out an official statement. There’s really nothing more to add,” said the Mercedes team boss.
Wolff also addressed the meeting with Verstappen during the break, with both men enjoying downtime in Sardinia — an encounter that generated enormous repercussions once photos surfaced. The Mercedes boss maintained it was purely a personal situation: the two families happened to be swimming and talking in the same stretch of water, he said, before someone nearby caught it on camera and posted it online. Wolff added that he finds it funny watching the theories people invent once something like that starts circulating.
“It was something totally spontaneous. In the age of social media, you really can’t hide anymore, and honestly, we don’t want to either. We were swimming and chatting. But there’s always that feeling that someone’s swimming next to you with their phone in hand, ready to snap a photo and post it online. I find it funny seeing the theories people come up with,” Wolff concluded.
What Wolff didn’t need to say is that the question is already closed. Red Bull announced last month that it had signed Verstappen to a contract extension through the 2030 season — meaning the Mercedes seat fuelling all that Sardinia speculation was never actually on the table by the time this interview took place. Wolff was similarly blunt when asked whether rookie championship leader Kimi Antonelli is now on Verstappen’s level, telling oe24 you can’t compare a four-time world champion to a driver in his second F1 season, even as he stressed Antonelli’s results this year deserve real credit.
Russell’s underdog framing carries real weight in the standings: he sits 81 points behind Antonelli after 14 rounds, having finished fifth in Madrid behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with Lewis Hamilton a further 20 points back in third. For Verstappen, still chasing his first win of 2026 as the Azerbaijan Grand Prix approaches, the whole episode amounts to noise around a decision that had already been made.
F1 today: FAQ
When is the next Formula 1 race?
The next race is the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit on Saturday, 26 September.
Why is the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix being held on Saturday?
The race was moved forward to avoid Azerbaijan’s national Remembrance Day on Sunday, 27 September. Practice begins on Thursday, with qualifying on Friday and the Grand Prix on Saturday.
Who leads the 2026 Formula 1 championship?
Kimi Antonelli leads the Drivers’ Championship with 292 points. Mercedes teammate George Russell is second on 211, leaving Antonelli 81 points ahead with nine rounds remaining.
Has Max Verstappen signed with Mercedes?
No. Red Bull announced last month that Verstappen had signed a contract extension through the 2030 season, closing the door on the Mercedes speculation sparked by his Sardinia meeting with Toto Wolff.
