28/06/2025 11:05
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff believes a potential Max
Verstappen-George Russell partnership would be "easy" after what he
endured in managing Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Red Bull
driver Verstappen has again emerged as a candidate for a seat at
Mercedes following confirmation from Russell that talks between the
four-time F1 champion and Wolff have delayed the Briton signing a
new contract with the team. Wolff refused to dismiss the prospect
of signing Verstappen when asked about the possibility in between
the two practice sessions for the Austrian Grand Prix on Friday.
If a Verstappen-Russell line-up was on the grid in 2026 it would
see two drivers go head to head in the same team despite the fact
they have made enemies of one another on track following numerous
incidents stemming back to late last year. Wolff, though, sees no
issue in having the duo in his team, particularly after what he
experienced with Hamilton and Rosberg, and the enmity that
developed between the two when they were team-mates from 2013 to
2016. "I can imagine every line-up," said Wolff, when asked if
Russell and Verstappen could be Mercedes team-mates. "I had Rosberg
and Hamilton fighting for a world championship. So everything else
afterwards is easy. "So, yeah, there are pros and cons of having
two drivers fighting each other hard. And we've seen examples where
that functions, and other examples where it didn't." Further
suggested to Wolff that Russell being made to wait for a new deal
was forcing him to deliver strong results, he added: "And when it
comes to the contract situation, our sport is pressure, constant
pressure, whether you're in the car, outside of the car, you just
need to cope with that. And George knows that, like any other
driver knows it. "I feel that when you're being put in a comfort
zone, sometimes that is more detrimental to performance than having
a certain pressure point in the system." Russell contract talks
ongoing Many questions have been directed to Wolff this season
surrounding why a new deal is yet to be offered to Russell, given
his impressive start to the campaign. The Briton sits fourth in
the F1 drivers' title, has claimed a victory and a further four
podiums, yet is still without a seat for 2026. When asked what more
Russell must do for a new contract, Wolff answered: "Nothing. He
has been part of our programme for 10 years or so. He's always
performed to the expectations that we have set, and he's continuing
to do so we have found. "We haven't given him a car to win a world
championship in the last three years. So that's completely on us.
And the times the car has been good, he has been winning races.
"We know that when he's getting in the car, he's going to extract
what is in the car. So having said that, for whatever reason, in
early summer, those kinds of contract discussions start to end up
being accelerated in the media, or accelerated because of a lack of
information. "Well, what I have been doing the last 30 years in a
normal business, contract discussions are not being held in town
halls. So everything is normal, everything goes to plan."
