Toto Wolff has admitted that George Russell’s Canadian Grand Prix victory has no bearing on when the squad might agree a new deal for the Briton, with the team boss stating that the Silver Arrows already “know he can perform”.
Russell enjoyed a strong weekend in Montreal, having claimed pole position in Saturday’s Qualifying before taking both his and the Brackley-based outfit’s first win of the season on Sunday. Team mate Kimi Antonelli added to the celebrations by claiming a maiden podium in third.
As such, Wolff – who conceded after Russell’s pole that the 27-year-old was giving the team “all the reasons” to re-sign him – was asked after the race if the result had provided an extra motivation to sign a new contract with Russell, whose current deal runs to the end of 2025.
However, the Austrian acknowledged that the British racer has already done enough to prove himself since joining the outfit from Williams back in 2022.
“He’s been so long with us and he’s growing – the steps he’s made from that young driver in Williams, then coming to Mercedes at a difficult time, being on par with Lewis [Hamilton], and then since Lewis left being clearly the senior driver in the team, and it comes natural,” Wolff explained.
“It’s not like there’s some politics. He’s just taken the place that he merits and deserves. The ambience in the team is great, and we’ve agreed on some kind of timeline when we want to settle these things.
“With triple headers getting out of the way in one race after the other now in June and July… but we’re going to get there.
“He’s been a Mercedes junior in the same way that Kimi was since he was 16, so it isn’t dependent on whether he wins a race, whether he performs, because we know he can.”
There had been much anticipation prior to Sunday’s race over how the battle between Russell and Max Verstappen might play out, with the pair lining up on the front row together just one race after they controversially collided in Spain.
When quizzed on whether this incident might have provided extra motivation for Russell, Wolff reflected: “These two guys [have] sat in go-karts and racing cars [for] more than 10 years, and have fought each other and have known each other off the track as well.
“I think they are very civilised when they see each other. It’s just on track, it’s a fierce battle, different characters, different personalities.
“I don’t think that is particularly different going into the first corner, whether there’s Max aside or George aside, they just want to come out ahead.”
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