Miami, Florida – Lewis Hamilton’s decision to leave Mercedes after Formula 1 season, created an open seat with the team, one full of rookie Kimi Antonelli. But with Antonelli and George Russell in one year agreements with the team, the 2025 season begged with a renewed speculation about the alignment of Mercedes drivers by 2026 and beyond.
The results on the track may have left the path clear. With Russell scoring a stage in three of the five great prize this season, and Antonelli rather than staying, the rumors of a shock movement for Max Verstappen have given way to the idea or an imminent extension for both drivers.
Duration The FIA press conference on Friday in Miami, the director of the Mercedes team, Toto Wolff, gave the greatest indication to the media, including SB nationThat a fact of fact would leave Russell. When asked if he would sign Russell again, Wolff had this to say:
“George is part of the Mercedes family, and always has a leg, and as I see things today, why break a team that is in a trajectory that I see as positive?”
That was not the only praise Wolff had for his two drivers.
“George has taken a step forward greatly, as a senior driver in the team. Kimi is almost like the young brother who has entered. They work together well, which is very pleasant to see,” Wolff said.
“Kimi doesn’t emphasize too much.
“It is simply accumulating constantly, and in George you can trust when it comes to times and races, so the spirits are high.”
Wolff continued further to call Russell the driver in which the team can “trust” when they need performance.
“I think he becomes so obvious when, when a seven -time world champion leaves the team, with whom he was 12 years old, George, who is always bone, a little in the shadow of Lewis Hamilton, is that you can do, you can do, you can do, you can do, you can do, you,” you. ” “.” Continuous Wolff.
The unbridled speculation about the driver’s movement is a fact of life in Formula 1, and the visions of a shocking movement of Max Verstappen, similar to the Hamilton movement to Ferrari, will continue to move the content needle.
But with Verstappen signed on Red Bull until 2028, and the team that works 24 hours to deliver a challenger that can use to retain the title of its driver championship, Mercedes has a young pairing of drivers who is delivering results in the present.
And the potential to offer equally greater results in the future.
