Crucial George Russell ‘leverage’ emerges amid Toto Wolff benched claim

Mercedes has got no viable option other than continuing with George Russell for F1 2026, says Guenther Steiner, with a new deal yet to be publicly announced.

That, claims Steiner, is the critical “leverage” which Russell has in the negotiations. Steiner also knocked back the idea of tension between Russell and Wolff, after six-time grand prix winner Ralf Schumacher made that suggestion, and claimed Russell no longer wants Wolff as an advisor.

Mercedes and George Russell: Who else?

Russell is delivering arguably his best F1 season yet in 2025. An impressive victory last time out in Singapore was his second win of the year, yet, he is still without a contract for F1 2026. That is despite Red Bull’s Max Verstappen having re-affirmed his Red Bull commitment back in the summer, following renewed Wolff interest.

Appearing on the Red Flags podcast, it was brought up to ex-Haas boss Steiner that, despite Russell’s Singapore heroics, he still does not have a contract for next year.

“He will get one,” Steiner replied. “I mean, if he doesn’t get it at Mercedes, he gets it somewhere else.

“But obviously, George knows what he’s worth. I would say, he doesn’t want his terms, he wants to do the best for him. He has got an opportunity.

“What he did for Mercedes, everybody was scared last year: ‘Oh, Lewis is leaving. Do you think George can take the lead of the team?’ No sh*t, he did. I mean, pretty good.

“Now he’s waiting for a contract, so I think he just tries to negotiate the best terms for him.

“I guess he wants more than a one-year contract, because I guess, Toto is playing at, give him one year, so if Max comes free, or Max wants to leave Red Bull, I’ve got a place for Max, and my love child, Kimi Antonelli.

“Obviously George is saying, ‘That doesn’t work for me! That’s not my ideal situation.’ And in the moment, who is performing? George. So he’s in a pretty good position to negotiate.

“He has got a lot of good reasons why he should get a contract and why he doesn’t bend over to get a contract. He says, ‘These are my terms’, and I guess he wants as well, being paid well, like all the other top drivers, or even more.”

At this stage of the year, much of the grid is set for F1 2026, as teams look to nail their preparations for the new chassis and engine regulations to come.

The key factor working in Russell’s favour, according to Steiner, as he bids to secure his spot in Mercedes’ F1 2026 plans, is that there is no other available driver who could be a viable Russell alternative.

“Think about it, Mercedes is even in a tougher place,” said Steiner. “Who would they put in there if he doesn’t sign a one-year contract.

“And that is his leverage, because Mercedes, who would they put in there. I mean, there is nobody available.

“Because Mercedes, I mean, Mercedes needs to fight for world championships. It’s not like a midfield team, which you take the best you can get for the money you’ve got. Mercedes, if they are participating in F1, they want to win the world championship. They’re not here to participate. They are here to win.

“So who else is there than George. So I think that is his leverage, that Mercedes has no other option. That’s for next year, and that is his playing up: ‘I want more than next year,’ because in ’27 if, for example, just hypothetical, Max decides, ‘Ah, Red Bull isn’t good enough for me. I want to go to Mercedes,’ obviously, then George would have the chance to go to Red Bull.

“But at that stage, Red Bull has got all the leverage over George, that if you want our seat, and we don’t know how good or how bad the Red Bull will be anyway in ’27, but they have got the leverage. Where else would he go.

“So I think in the moment, the biggest leverage for George is that Mercedes has nobody else to go in the car next year.”

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Schumacher stated his belief that “there was tension” between Wolff and Russell, especially as Wolff “publicly flirted” with the reigning four-time World Champion. Present in the Singapore paddock, Schumacher said he picked up on a feeling of “unrest” still present between Russell and Mercedes.

However, Steiner does not believe that relations between Wolff and Russell have been soured by the contract saga.

“I think Toto and George know each other so long, so well,” Steiner stated. “We never have to forget, to get George into Formula 1, it was Toto. We need to respect that one as well.

“So I think it is just a negotiation. I don’t think it distances between them. Obviously, sometimes their conversations will be pretty tough, but I think that George’s manager [Harry Soden] will take the lead in it, so you’re not confrontational with another team member. That’s what I would normally do.”

Speaking after the Singapore GP, Wolff gave the latest update on where he and Russell were at with contract negotiations.

“Contract-wise, good things take a while,” he said. “It’s about the detail, and it’s not about the big topics.”

Russell sits fourth in the Drivers’ Championship with six rounds to go. Verstappen is 36 points up the road.

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