Brundle’s theory on Mercedes hold-up to avoid a ‘million’ Russell questions

Mercedes has not yet confirmed Kimi Antonelli for next season, and won’t until it is also ready to announce George Russell in order to avoid a “million questions”.

That’s the theory put forward by former F1 driver Martin Brundle.

Mercedes has yet to confirm either F1 2026 driver

Mercedes is one of only two teams yet to confirm either driver for the F1 2026 championship, although, unlike Racing Bulls, it’s not so much a question of who will race, but ironing out the finer details in their contracts.

Five-time grand prix winner Russell is said to be behind the hold-up as the Briton is still negotiating the fine print in his contract.

He alluded to this in the wake of his Singapore Grand Prix victory, his second of the season, saying: “This, as with every new contract you sign, is the most important one of your career.

“I’ll be 28 next year. I’ve been with the team for so long, but there are so many factors that I want to be right.

“And you sort of learn as you grow older what’s important to you. And you know, race weekends are just the iceberg of our job, and we spend so much time on the road with sponsorship days, days on the simulator, seeing the team.

“It’s the details, just finding you know that right compromise that you can still have a sliver of a life outside of a sport to be able to see my young nieces and nephews, who I see once a year. It’s things like this.”

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Brundle reckons that until Mercedes has Russell locked in, the team won’t announce Antonelli, as that will only open it up to a barrage of questions about what’s going on with Russell.

Antonelli, though, is sure to stay on, according to Brundle, after the Italian bounced back from his mid-season slump to record three top-ten results on the trot.

“He’s going really well, isn’t he? He’s weathered the storm, and he’s kept his head; his head didn’t spiral,” said Brundle on Sky F1. “The team has really put a lot of support around him. He’s shown the talent he needs.

“He will be in the car next year, they just don’t want to announce it yet because that would just create a million questions of, ‘So, what’s happening to George?’

“But, they will announce George and Kimi at the same time.”

Although Antonelli’s F1 career began with a run of three points-scoring finishes on the trot, he hit a slump that was only cushioned by his debut podium at the Canadian Grand Prix, where he finished in third place.

He has recovered from that in recent races, matching his season’s best result with a P4 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

“It’s a great lineup,” declared 2009 World Champion Jenson Button in response to Brundle.

“Obviously, Kimi is still very young. He probably did more laps in an F1 car than any other driver did last year, so he started on a very good high, and you expect to see him improve through the year.

“We haven’t seen that so much, but the last two races, I feel he’s upped his game a little bit.

“And you’ve got to think he’s alongside George, who’s at his best right now.”

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