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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff fired shots at Red Bull team boss Christian Horner over his comments about signing George Russell in 2026. The British driver has been associated with the German team ever since his junior days and continued in F1 in 2022.
He has presented a solid account for himself given his three seasons against Lewis Hamilton and his ability to go toe-to-toe with arguably the greatest driver of all time and come out triumphant.
While addressing the problem with the Red Bull pool of drivers in Singapore to Sky Sports, Christian Horner claimed he would not be shy of hiring someone like Russell instead of promoting from inside the pool in 2026. He said:
"We've got a gap now but we just want to take time to consider what do those options look like for the future. Look, we're not afraid to go out of the pool. George Russell is out of contract at the end of next year."
"It would be foolish not to take that into consideration. There are other drivers, talented drivers, that will be out of contract as well," he added.
Horner's comments did not sit well with Wolff, who responded, via Motorsport.com:
"I think he is always stirring sh*t up, it is part of the game. George is a Mercedes driver and has been forever and hopefully will be forever. We have a long contract with him."
Mercedes team boss addresses George Russell rumors in Singapore
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff stated that George Russell and Kimi Antonelli were the team's future and would be driving for them next year.
The Italian would be making his debut in F1 replacing Lewis Hamilton after a stellar junior career and has been groomed by the Austrian billionaire. Speaking about the two drivers, Wolff said:
"These two are the future, They have been and will be Mercedes drivers, and therefore we have contracts with George and Kimi that go much longer, that are very complicated in terms of options, etc."
"Mercedes has always been a pressure cooker, but this is where we stand as a team today, we want to go with these two," he added.
Russell signed a two-year contract extension with the German team in August 2023 and would enter the final year of his deal in 2025. With Wolff's public courting of Max Verstappen for 2026, many have pointed out that next year could be a straight shootout between him and Antonelli.
The 26-year-old is currently P7 in the Driver's Championship with 155 points in 18 races and three Sprints thus far and trails Lewis Hamilton by 19 points this year.
