01/07/2025 10:45
Toto Wolff has asserted Mercedes will finalise its driver line-up
for the 2026 F1 season around the summer break this year. The
Brackley-based squad has not yet secured one of the seats for next
year's campaign, which will be run under a new set of technical
regulations. Rookie Kimi Antonelli, who has been associated with
Mercedes for several years, is widely expected to stay, given the
team's long-term ambitions with the Italian. George Russell's
future has been less certain as Wolff has verified his interest in
poaching Max Verstappen from Red Bull amid the energy drink-backed
squad's dip in form over the last 12 months. But Wolff has asserted
he wants to avoid being "sadistic" when it comes to forcing drivers
to wait for news over a fresh contract. "You need to be respectful
towards the stakeholders in all of that process," Wolff told media
including RacingNews365 . "The organisation, the drivers,
everybody. You need to understand the way forward. "And I don't
want to be sadistic in letting a driver wait or not taking any
decisions when it should be taken. So I feel we're in a good space
in June." The summer break will officially begin at the start of
August, following the Hungarian Grand Prix. Wolff has signalled his
hope of putting all discussions and speculation to rest in that
time by tying down his two drivers for 2026. "Obviously there's
lots of discussions around. I've been open with it and
transparent," he said. "And at a certain stage in the next couple
of months – until the summer break, we need to know. Until the
summer break, everything is going to be done."
