Wolff insists ousting Russell at Mercedes would be 'wrong'
Toto Wolff has drawn a line under months of Verstappen-to-Mercedes speculation, pointing to a driver pairing that's working, and Russell's 2027 seat is effectively secured.
Toto Wolff has all but confirmed George Russell will remain at Mercedes in 2027, appearing to draw a line under months of speculation linking Max Verstappen with the Brackley team.
Russell, now taking pole position for the Austrian GP, had already declared at the Red Bull Ring: "There will be no announcement, but I will be racing here next year, 100 percent."
Now Mercedes boss Wolff has effectively confirmed it.
"Our plan is not to change the driver lineup," he told Austria's APA news agency.
"It's important for us to have stability now. Kimi has found his form, the driver pairing works well, as does their collaboration within the team.
"It would be wrong to change that now."
That leaves Verstappen's future increasingly focused on persistent links with McLaren rather than Mercedes.
The 'Stai calmo' question
Russell's pole lap also became a talking point after his radio message, "Stai calmo, stai calmo", prompted speculation it was aimed at teammate, rival and championship leader Kimi Antonelli.
Antonelli abandoned his final qualifying lap after assuming Verstappen's crash had triggered double waved yellow flags, while Russell correctly realised only single yellows were being shown and lifted just enough to keep improving.
"It's absolutely not like that," Russell insisted to Sky Italia when asked if the radio message was a jibe aimed at Antonelli.
"Oh my God, no, I was just joking.
"I want to clarify because there was nothing there - let's clarify because there was absolutely nothing intentional."
Wolff instead praised Russell's judgement.
"My congratulations to George for the way he handled the situation," he said.
"I'm proud of him. I think Kimi thought it was double yellow flags."
Ferrari and the yellow flags
The incident also drew attention from Ferrari, with some suggesting the team could question the FIA's handling of the yellow flags.
"One could discuss this at length and question whether it's reasonable that a double yellow flag isn't shown when a crash is so severe that the medical car is deployed," team boss Frederic Vasseur said.
"But we lack the data from the mini-sectors, and therefore we can't verify whether he reduced his speed by 5 percent or not. We have to trust the race director's judgment, and we do."
Vasseur was also pleased to see Charles Leclerc outqualify teammate Lewis Hamilton after recent scrutiny of the Monegasque.
"The journalists were more worried about it, but I had absolutely no concerns," he said. "His speed was always there.
"He was under a bit of pressure, because that's always the case when you make mistakes, and it's good for him that he was able to strike back with a good lap.
"But the pace was always there."
Leclerc also shrugged off suggestions that his recent form had become a problem. "There are always voices and rumours going around," he told RTBF.
"The criticism often comes from the same people. It's part of the job, that's just how it is.
"I'm very lucky to be an F1 driver and a Ferrari driver. So that comes with more criticism. And it's normal to get it when things aren't going well."
Quick stats
| F1 debut | 2019, Williams |
|---|---|
| Current team | Mercedes (since 2022) |
| World championships | 0 |
| Nationality | British |
| 2027 contract | Confirmed (per Wolff, June 2026) |
See also: 2026 F1 calendar on F1-Fansite.
Related: Russell confirms 2027 Mercedes stay, shutting door on Verstappen
2 F1 Fan comments on “Wolff insists ousting Russell at Mercedes would be 'wrong'”
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The witch hunt on Russell for the yellow matter was simply pointless since he acted accordingly for a single-waved yellow, while Antonelli simply mistook a single for a double, & this is a mistake he won’t repeat.
Additionally, a single yellow was enough (especially initially), given how far away from the track edge Max’s car was, & race control probably waited before switching to double until after the Mercedes drivers (the only ones behind Max in track position order) had finished their respective final flying laps, so that marshals could start the recovery process without fear.
A witch hunt is the world we live in