George Russell to bench Toto Wolff? Schumacher suggests big Mercedes contract update

Six-time F1 grand prix winner Ralf Schumacher has claimed that “rumour has it” George Russell no longer wants Mercedes boss Toto Wolff in his ear as his advisor.

Schumacher expressed that opinion following the Singapore Grand Prix, where he believes an agreement was reached between Russell and Wolff, with Russell and Mercedes yet to publicly announce a new contract. According to what Schumacher has heard, Russell could move forward without Wolff as his advisor.

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Russell is delivering arguably his strongest Formula 1 season yet in 2025, a campaign which has included victories in Canada and Singapore. Yet, he remains out of contract come the end of the year.

During the summer, Russell had pointed to talks between Mercedes and Max Verstappen as a factor behind his contract situation. Yet, months have passed since Verstappen reaffirmed his Red Bull commitment, and Russell still does not have a deal for F1 2026.

In the paddock at the Singapore Grand Prix, Schumacher claimed a sense of “unrest” remains present between Russell and Mercedes.

Speaking on Sky Germany’s Backstage Boxengasse podcast, Schumacher continued: “You remember, Toto Wolff had cancelled an interview appointment with us at short notice after the qualifying.

“I almost suspect that this was ultimately the reason, because on Sunday he admitted to us that both drivers are definitely with Mercedes. So, not that they were still negotiating on that Saturday, because somehow, George Russell was not in a good mood.

“I believe a lot was negotiated there. But I think they reached an agreement on that Saturday. That was my feeling a bit, because otherwise Toto Wolff wouldn’t have stood in front of the camera.”

Schumacher’s belief that an agreement was reached came with an apparent rumour over the future of the Wolff and Russell alliance.

Russell does have a personal manager in Harry Soden, but, as a graduate of the Mercedes Junior Team, also has his career overseen by Mercedes and Wolff – this makes for a unique situation as the majority of F1 drivers have a management setup completely external from the Formula 1 team which they race for.

“Rumour has it that Russell no longer wants Toto or, in any form, Toto as an advisor,” Schumacher claimed.

“I believe, as a driver, he suffered a bit during the time they publicly flirted with Max Verstappen and pushed him a bit to the side. That’s the feeling you get.

“So, I believe there was tension, and I think especially under these conditions.”

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But, externally at least, there has not been any obvious deterioration in the relationship between Wolff and Russell.

Wolff has remained highly complimentary of the season which Russell is delivering, a stance which certainly continued after Russell’s controlled victory in Singapore.

“I think we’ve seen George in the past [have] these moments, but not recently,” said Wolff, when the topic of Singapore 2023 was brought up, an event which saw Russell crash out in the closing stages of the victory hunt.

“That’s the step up that he’s made also this year, that these things don’t happen again.

“He was in control of the race, eking out an advantage, managing it when Max was a bit closer.”

Wolff added, “He’s been formidable this year. I haven’t seen mistakes.

“There were weekends that, he himself, said, ‘I could have done more, and it wasn’t a good race.’ But this happens with any driver.

“But you can see when it just merges, the car being in a perfect space and the driver being on top of things, that becomes the kind of dominant formula.

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

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