Rosberg delivers Russell contract blow with ‘maybe some Verstappen talks’
George Russell has yet to re-sign with Mercedes
Nico Rosberg doesn’t understand why Mercedes haven’t already extended with George Russell, saying “maybe” there are “some talks” with Max Verstappen.
Last season, Mercedes publicly courted Verstappen as they sought a replacement for Lewis Hamilton, but with the Dutchman committed to Red Bull, Toto Wolff signed Mercedes junior driver Kimi Antonelli on a one-year deal.
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But while the Italian is also out of contract at the end of this season, it’s Russell who has found himself the focus of F1’s rumour mill with Mercedes expected to retain Antonelli.
Despite Russell’s promising start to the F1 2025 season, with five podium results including the victory at the Canadian Grand Prix, Mercedes has been persistently linked with a move for Verstappen.
Russell has also been linked to rival teams, most recently Aston Martin, while PlanetF1.com reported in April that he’d held informal talks with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.
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Throughout it all, Wolff has maintained he “absolutely” wants to re-sign Russell, saying back in March: “It is almost an open secret that we have every intention to keep our drivers for the long term.
“We are not disclosing every discussion that we have with the drivers and that is why this is going in the direction that it should go.”
But as the months have rolled on, F1’s rumour mill cannot shake the ‘Verstappen to Mercedes’ rumours.
Rosberg, Mercedes 2016 F1 World Champion, wonders if “maybe” there is something to it.
“Red Bull is not stupid,” he told Sky Deutschland. “They paid Max a fortune and signed him for several years. I don’t think he can just run away.
“But you can’t force you to stay. If he wants to leave, you have to accept it at some point.
“On the other hand, there is also the George Russell situation at Mercedes. There is some delay in it, because Toto Wolff should actually sign him now. This is his number one driver, his performance this season is mega again.
“Maybe there are some talks in the background with the Verstappen side.”
His fellow pundit and former F1 driver Timo Glock called it a “game of poker” with Russell holding a good hand of cards given his performances this season.
“At Mercedes there is no hurry,” said the German. “On the one hand, of course, you can play a bit of poker with each other.
“Russell is also someone who already has a lot of experience, performs well, and maybe also changed the numbers in his contract a bit and wants to earn more. This is a poker game.
“On the other hand, Mercedes keeps all doors open.”
Wolff was asked about Russell’s contract situation after Canada and said that the 27-year-old’s victory wouldn’t be a deciding factor; it was more a case of finding the time to sort out the finer details.
“The ambience in the team is great,” he said. “We must wait on some kind of timeline when we want to settle these things.
“With triple headers getting out of the way and one race after the other now in June and July. But we’re going to get there.
“He’s been a Mercedes junior in the same way that Kimi was since he was 16. So it isn’t dependent on whether he wins a race, whether he performs, because we know he can.”
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