Totowolf says Mercedes might not make a significant announcement when the deal is agreed, however will proceed with the present lineup of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli drivers in 2026.
Russell and Antonelli don’t but have an extension of the contract confirmed by Mercedes. Russell says he isn’t in a rush to finalise particulars of the transaction on Zandvoort. Wolff admits there are specific sticking factors associated to schedules from races that also require ironing, however he admits that each drivers will compete for groups subsequent yr.
“We’re doing this so we have at all times stated there would not be any massive information,” Wolf stated. “In fact, we’re each occurring. George has some issues we need to optimize what number of hours we trip on journey and advertising days. He is an skilled driver and it is at all times vital for us to speak about it.
“We need to have the very best efficiency of our drivers and I believe we put a substantial pressure on each drivers’ advertising and media actions. That is how we readjust. Are there any bulletins at Monza? No.
Whereas Russell was combating for third place within the Driver Championship, Antonelli had the incident-filled Dutch Grand Prix. After getting again on observe to complete FP1 early, Antonelli failed to achieve the third quarter, however produced a powerful struggle again drive earlier than scoring a penalty to collide with Charles Leclerc.
“After we made it clear at Monza final yr that we had been giving him an opportunity, we stated that we gave him a yr of studying, there have been moments that tear his hair off, and there have been different moments of glow.
“The error in FP1 is clearly one thing that places him on his hind legs for the weekend. And there is a nice driving second within the race. After he was in free air, he was behind McLaren, he was the quickest automotive and sadly acquired concerned in that accident, which marked the tip of Charles’ race and your race.
“However we would like him to go on the transfer. Clearly. And the ups and downs, and I used to be completely hoping for it from this season. These days will probably be studying subsequent yr. We’re not combating for the constructors championship. In fact, it is not at risk of P2 and P3, however that is much less vital than subsequent yr.”
