31/08/2025 12:41
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has confirmed that it will
retain both George Russell and Kimi Antonelli for the 2026 F1
season. The Austrian revealed it would continue with its current
drivers following a mixed Dutch Grand Prix, which saw Antonelli
handed multiple penalties. Russell salvaged fourth at Zandvoort
despite nursing damage after a collision with Charles Leclerc, who
was later taken out by Antonelli at the banked third corner.
Antonelli received a 10-second time penalty for the clash, and a
further five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane. It
ended the young Italian driver's hopes of scoring points,
continuing his difficult run of a single point across the last five
grands prix. Despite Antonelli's recent difficulties, there was
never any doubt that he would not be retained, given Mercedes'
investment into his development. As for Russell, there had been
some speculation over his future, particularly after the rumours
linking the Silver Arrows with Max Verstappen. However, with
Verstappen committed to Red Bull for next year, Russell will remain
with the Brackley-based team, although official contracts are yet
to be signed by both drivers. "I always said, there's not going to
be any big news because we're doing this," Wolff told select media,
including RacingNews365 . "We're continuing with both of them, of
course. "With George, there's a few things where we want to
optimise some of the travelling and the marketing days, how many
hours we're putting [into it]. "He's an experienced driver, and for
us, it's always important to talk about it. We want to have the
best performance of the drivers, and I think we've given both of
them quite a strain with marketing activities and media activities,
and this is how we, in a way, recalibrate. "Is there going to be
an announcement in Monza? No. But I don't think it's even going to
be a big announcement. It's just going to give you the heads up and
say we've put a signature on the agreement."
