Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has suggested that George Russell‘s extended wait to pen a new deal has had a positive impact on his performances in Formula 1 in 2025.
Russell remains without a contract in place to continue with Mercedes past this season as he conceded earlier this month that talks over a renewal haven’t advanced.
But despite his uncertain contractual situation, Russell has spearheaded Mercedes’ climb to second in the Constructors’ Championship with five podiums in 10 races.
The Briton underlined his value at the Canadian Grand Prix a fortnight ago with a tremendous weekend showing that saw him translate pole position into the race win.
Wolff has insinuated that the increased spotlight on Russell, combined with his revised role as the senior driver at Mercedes, has propelled him to a new level in 2025.
“When it comes to the contract situation, our sport is pressure, constant pressure,” Wolff told media including Motorsport Week.
“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 actually more detrimental to performance than having a certain pressure point in the system.”
Mercedes sticking to Russell timeline
Russell dropped a bombshell in the lead-up to this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix when he disclosed that Mercedes is engaged in ongoing talks with Max Verstappen.
Wolff wasn’t in denial when probed on that revelation, though he dismissed that his tentative discussions with Verstappen were holding up progress on Russell’s deal.
Instead, the Austrian has explained how Mercedes is committed to working to a pre-determined timeline that has been agreed with Russell outside the public domain.
When asked what else Russell has to prove on track to earn a new deal with Mercedes, Wolff answered: “Nothing.
“He has been part of our program since 10 years or so. He’s always performed to the expectations that we have set, and he’s continuing to do so.
“We haven’t given him a car to win a World Championship in the last three years, so that’s completely on us.
“The times the car has been good, he has been winning races. And you can see today, he’s always there.
“You know that when he’s getting in the car, he’s going to extract what is in the car.
“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.
“What I have been doing the last 30 years in a normal business, contract discussions are not being held as town halls. So, everything is normal. Everything goes to plan.”
Wolff went on to reiterate that a potential move to poach Verstappen, whom he boasts a long-standing interest in, from Red Bull would not come at Russell’s expense.
Pressed on whether the ex-Williams driver was heading his list, Wolff concluded: “Well, he needs to be top of the list because he’s a race winner with us.”
READ MORE – George Russell indicates Mercedes engaged in F1 discussions with Max Verstappen
