Mercedes to continue with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli in 2026, says Toto Wolff

Russell had already said at the start of the Dutch weekend that there was no doubt he would be staying at Mercedes.

He said: “We wanted to take the summer off to relax and reset, but positively moving in the right direction. But I think as there is no time pressure from the team side and no time pressure from our side, we’re just ensuring it’s done properly.”

Rookie Antonelli had another difficult weekend at Zandvoort, earning a penalty for crashing out of the race with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. He finished 16th after being given an additional penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

But Wolff said he had no doubt about the 19-year-old Italian’s potential.

“When we gave him the opportunity, it was also saying that we would give him a year of learning, and there would be moments where we’d tear our hair out, and there would be other moments of brilliance. And I think this weekend pretty much sums that up,” Wolff said.

“My 100% belief is in him in the long term and that is just part of the learning.”