Toto Wolff makes it official: George Russell and Kimi Antonelli to race for Mercedes in 2026

After months of negotiations and rumors, Toto Wolff finally shared a confirmation about George Russell's future at Mercedes. Speaking to the media during the Dutch GP, the Mercedes boss confirmed that Russell and Kimi Antonelli will race for the Silver Arrows in 2026.

According to a recent report by Autosport, Wolff confirmed that Russell and Antonelli will continue to be the Mercedes driver pair in 2026. This means that the Silver Arrows also renewed Antonelli's contract alongside retaining their top driver.

The situation regarding Russell has been quite confusing and tense as the British driver was days away from receiving his contract extension during the British GP, his home race. However, the Briton not only received his contract renewal, but also rumors of Wolff's interest in Max Verstappen surfaced.

Neither Wolff nor Verstappen denied having a conversation, but they did not clarify if the discussions were regarding the Dutchman's move to Brackley in the near future. The Red Bull driver was already unhappy with his team's performance and was ready to trigger the exit clause.

However, Verstappen decided to remain at Red Bull in 2026, and this left Wolff with no choice but to remain loyal to George Russell. In a nutshell, Mercedes will retain this season's pair for the upcoming season, under the new regulations.

Russell arrived at Mercedes from Williams in 2022 and replaced Valtteri Bottas. He raced alongside Lewis Hamilton for three seasons and outscored him twice. After Hamilton's departure to Ferrari, Russell became the de facto lead driver of the team.

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George Russell confident about his future with Mercedes

George Russell shared his thoughts about his future with Mercedes and stated that he had nothing to worry about. Speaking about this to the media, here's what the #63 driver said:

George Russell of Great Britain driving the (63) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team W16 on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Netherlands - Source: Getty

"No, not at all, to be honest. It was more of a question of who my teammate was going to be. I think I'm quite rational to how this sport works, and the team felt like they didn't need to sign a deal. I didn't really feel I needed to push it so much when it got to a certain point. I believe in myself more than ever."

“I've always believed in myself, and my results have always shown that. It's not just the form of this year, but through my whole career since the age of 10 years old. So, yeah, if you back yourself and if you perform, you'll never have anything to worry about," the Mercedes driver further added.

George Russell is currently in P4 in the Driver's Standings with 184 points. His teammate, Kimi Antonelli, is in P7 with 64 points after 15 races and three Sprints. Mercedes are in P3 in the Constructors' Championship with 248 points.