Wolff: Results-wise Russell was stronger than Hamilton in 2024

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff says George Russell was already outperforming Lewis Hamilton in terms of results in 2024 and has now fully embraced the senior driver role at the German team in 2025.

Speaking ahead of the midseason break, Mercedes F1 boss Wolff offered a candid assessment on his squad’s performance so far in their first season without Hamilton since 2012. Reflecting on Russell and their teenage rookie, Kimi Antonelli.

Wolff addressed Hamilton’s ongoing struggles at Ferrari, noting that the situation mirrors what occurred at Mercedes when Russell began matching and then beating the seven-time F1 World Champion last season.

“When I look at George, the development he’s made since joining Formula 1, from the fast kiddo at Williams to being drafted into Mercedes, clearly alongside the greatest of all greats, Lewis Hamilton, you’ve seen already last year he started to be so strong on pure pace. In terms of results, the stronger driver.

“Now, with Lewis having gone to Ferrari, George has taken the senior driver slot, and it came completely naturally. He delivers, even when the car isn’t on the level. He outperforms the car. You can always count on George," declared the Austrian.

Wolff highlighted Russell’s off-track value as well: “Beyond the driving, he’s also great with our partners and does a lot of activities that help us build his brand and build our brand. We couldn’t wish for a better number one driver.”

The Mercedes boss also praised 18-year-old rookie Kimi Antonelli, who joined the team this year and made an instant impression with standout performances in difficult conditions.

“Kimi obviously started very strongly, with a fantastic race under wet conditions and some spectacular overtakes on the Sunday. None of us ever doubted his performance. We knew there would be ups and downs. That’s part of the development curve,” said Wolff.

“In Miami, in Sprint Qualifying, he took his first pole, and that was completely on merit. The next highlights followed, with a podium in Montreal. We mustn’t forget he’s 18 years old, and he’s going to learn a lot. He’ll make mistakes, and on other days, he’s going to be brilliant. Long-term, that’s completely normal.”

Wolff also gave credit to reserve drivers Valtteri Bottas and Frederik Vesti, whose contributions behind the scenes have helped keep the team competitive.

“Beyond the drivers in the car, I obviously need to mention Valtteri and Fred. Fred has done a great job as a reserve and has done the hard work, the legwork in the simulator, sometimes overnight. That cannot be appreciated enough. He’s someone we can rely on who has speed and gives good guidance to the drivers,” Wolff said.

“Obviously, Valtteri has been part of the Mercedes family for a long, long time. He’s a driver where, if one of ours had fish poisoning, you could put him in the car and he’d be absolutely on pace. That’s great to know, that your reserve and third driver is as quick as it gets.”

Wolff also reiterated his belief that Bottas deserves a race seat: “Hopefully that door will open. Watch this space.”

Reflecting on the season so far, Wolff admitted it’s been a story of early momentum lost and later recovery, particularly following a costly mid-season upgrade.

“This season has been a bit of a mix of performances. We started well and scored a lot of podiums. In qualifying, we were ahead. And then somehow, the performance ran away from us. That correlates quite well with an upgrade we introduced,” he said.

“We were obviously a little bit caught on the wrong foot because we dominated Montreal with that same car. That gave us many reasons to believe the trajectory was right. But then, in the next two months, we saw our performances deteriorate.”

Mercedes have since reverted to earlier-spec parts with positive signs at the Hungaroring: “We went back to the parts and the hardware on the car that had been working, and the Hungaroring was pretty strong in terms of raw pace. We hope we can continue with that momentum into the second half of the year.”

Wolff confirmed that much of the factory’s focus is already on 2026, when Formula 1’s new engine and chassis regulations come into force.

“This year marks an interesting Formula 1 season because, in 2026, everything changes. We’ll get a completely new chassis, new aerodynamic regulations, finally off those ground-effect cars that haven’t done us so well, and then a completely new engine,” said Wolff.

“Our development has been concentrated around that project for a long time. There was a small group tasked with running this year’s car as well as possible. They’re fully on it, and that’s why I believe the second half can be strong while all of the R&D and development is obviously concentrated on next year’s car.”

“The 2,000 people who are not part of the racing team, in Brixworth and Brackley where we’re building the engines and the car, they’re all in for 2026.”

Wolff ended with a message of gratitude to his team and fans: “I would also like to say thank you. Thank you to all of the people who have pushed so strongly at Mercedes, who have supported us. But also to the fans, who have been out there cheering for us on the good days and on the bad days.

"We win and lose together. That was our motto. It’s great to know that the support is there. We’ll just continue pushing and giving it all we have," concluded Wolff's mid-season message on YouTube.