George Russell and Kimi Antonelli could be heading into a very difficult situation, according to Formula 1 World Champion Nico Rosberg. The German has looked back on his career at Mercedes, and there was one thing in particular that he is relieved he doesn’t have to do anymore. Something the Mercedes pair, on the other hand, will need to do if they want to race in 2026.
According to Rosberg, negotiating for a new contract with Toto Wolff is one of the hardest things he has ever had to do at the team. With the silly season about to go at full speed, the current occupants of the Mercedes seats might have the same experience he did all those years ago.
Toto Wolff’s disappearing act in contract negotiations
In a recent episode of The F1 Show Podcast, Rosberg was reminiscent of his contract negotiations with Toto Wolff in his Mercedes days. Negotiations in which he describes sweating him by completely going off the grid:
“It’s not a comfortable situation for George [Russell] because you want to have it done and dusted. In my experience, dealing with Toto [Wolff] for contract negotiations is a little bit painful.”
Now, of course, Toto Wolff is the longest-serving current team principal on the F1 grid. This means that he definitely knows what he is doing when it comes to his driver lineup. But while the negotiations are happening, he is not just your team boss. You also need to convince him to give you what you, as a driver, want:
“He just disappears off planet earth when you try to get a hold of him. And that’s his strategy, to strengthen his negotiation position, to just disappear. So that’s not going to be comfortable for George. However, now that Max is done, maybe it will move pretty quickly, actually.”
While it can be a challenge bargaining with Wolff for a seat at Mercedes, the British driver should not have any issue confirming his seat for next season with the performances he’s been delivering this season. The same could go for Antonelli, as long as he can get out of his current slump.
Antonelli’s chances for a 2026 seat at Mercedes
Following the weekend at Spa Francorchamps, Mercedes reportedly had a crisis meeting with the team. Here they talked about the current performance of the team and how to go forward to ensure good results for the remainder of 2025. Talking about the drivers’ recent struggles in Spa, you can only hope that these results are taken with a grain of salt in the upcoming talks for the 2026 seats:
” Kimi [Antonelli] was only 3.5 tenths off on a superlong lap that is Spa from George Russell in qualifying. And yet, that allowed George to be P5 while Kimi was down in P17. It’s only 3.5 tenths, but because they are really stuck in that midfield, it can make a big difference.”
With the very competitive grid of 2025,most teams are very competitive for advancing to Q2. A small mistake could see you starting last in the race. Additionally, this season, it’s been proven that fighting back is very difficult. That being said, Antonelli has had early flashes of confidence and pace. He is still very young and will definitely get to the top if given the chance for 2026 and beyond.
