Mercedes Components 1 boss Toto Wolff mentioned within the assertion that introduced George Russell and Kimi Antonelli can be staying with the workforce in 2026 that “confirming our driver line-up was all the time only a matter of when, not if”.
But for a while this season there very a lot was doubt about who can be driving for the previous champions subsequent season.
The spectre of Max Verstappen has hung closely over each Mercedes drivers for a good portion of this season – and Russell extra so than Antonelli.
Wolff mentioned on the Australian Grand Prix initially of the season {that a} transfer for Verstappen was “not on any radar”.
Nevertheless it was an announcement that mirrored Wolff’s acceptance that the prospects of attracting Verstappen have been comparatively distant, and was geared toward deflecting disruptive questions.
It didn’t change the truth that Wolff was all in favour of Verstappen, and all people in F1 knew it.
Wolff tried to get the Dutchman final yr, earlier than finally admitting defeat. And so they had talks once more this season.
It was Russell who explicitly spelled out what was occurring, on the Austrian Grand Prix on the finish of June.
“It is solely regular that conversations with the likes of Verstappen are ongoing,” Russell mentioned. “However from my facet, if I am performing as I am doing, what have I obtained to be involved about? There are two seats in each Components 1 workforce.”
That was a reference to Russell’s emphatic victory within the earlier race in Canada, and to the truth that the Briton was already by that time not solely having arguably his greatest season in F1, however comfortably outperforming his extremely touted rookie team-mate.
Lastly, on the Hungarian Grand Prix on the finish of July, Verstappen put the story to mattress by saying it was “time mainly to cease all of the rumours”.
