Wolff: Russell extension a formality, Antonelli a long-term project

Mercedes aka Wolff (who makes the driver calls) has yet to confirm its 2026 driver line-up, long after most rivals, though it has been widely expected to continue with Russell alongside rookie Antonelli.

Russell himself previously linked the delay to Mercedes’ pursuit of Max Verstappen, who has since confirmed he will remain with Red Bull.

“We clearly know what we expect from each other, what we want. It’s a formality,” Wolff said at the Dutch Grand Prix on Friday.

“But at the same time, it’s important to discuss even the slightest details, like how can we extract the most performance out of George, or how to structure his marketing obligations,” the Mercedes boss added.

Both he and Russell confirmed this week that talks were paused during Formula 1’s mid-season break but have since resumed: “Toto and the team were very willing to work through the summer break to come to a resolution, but I wanted just to take that time because those two weeks are pretty precious for all of us.

“There’s no major rush and I don’t want to really put a timeline on it. When it will happen, it will happen. If that’s next week, a month, two months, three months, it will be what it will be,” Russell said on Thursday.

Wolff also offered support for Antonelli after a difficult run of results for the 18-year-old Italian, who has scored points in only two of the last eight races and slid into the gravel trap in Friday’s first practice session at Zandvoort.

“We just continue to believe in him. He needs time,” Wolff said. “We are fully on the mission, and single race weekends or a session like we had before on Friday are not going to change our opinion. Short term, we’re going to say, ‘That’s not good,’ but Kimi is a long-term investment.”