George Russell could become the de facto team leader at Mercedes next season following the departure of Lewis Hamilton. While Toto Wolff will nominally maintain parity in the garage, Russell should be dominant against Kimi Antonelli.
At 18, Antonelli will become the third-youngest driver in Formula 1 history. In the space of 10 minutes during his FP1 debut at Monza in August, he showed he had the raw speed to occasionally beat Russell, but also the typical rawness of youth.
The Italian looked scintillatingly fast before he carried too much speed into the Parabolica and lost control of his car, slamming the barriers at 52G. Wolff has downplayed expectations for Antonelli, with Mercedes acknowledging the inevitability of mistakes.
Like Russell, Antonelli is a graduate of the Mercedes academy. Peter Windsor says promoting Russell was a mistake because Wolff should have prioritised Hamilton.
Three years on, the team principal has found a new golden boy. Russell pulled Wolff into his Max Verstappen feud at the Abu Dhabi GP, perhaps to get him on side amid interest in the world champion.
After all, the Englishman only has one year left on his contract, while Antonelli has signed a multi-year deal. Despite notching three wins, five poles and 15 podiums, he could be vulnerable if Verstappen puts himself on the market.
Nico Rosberg says George Russell should remind Toto Wolff he’s ‘neutral’ after Lewis Hamilton message
Wolff and Russell bid farewell to Hamilton at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last weekend. They’re bound to go up against the 39-year-old in Ferrari’s colours in 2025.
Russell wore a Hamilton tribute helmet, having idolised the seven-time world champion as he ascended the racing ladder. Wolff, meanwhile, offered encouragement over the radio as he tried to ensure that a tricky final season ended on a high.
Hamilton had progressed to fifth after a Q1 exit left him 16th on the grid, but with around 15 laps to go, he found himself 14 seconds behind his teammate. Wolff, who’s not ordinarily involved in radio communications, intervened to assure him he could catch up.
Making use of his fresher tyres, Hamilton did so, and he executed a fine move around the outside of turn nine to snatch fourth on the final lap. Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Nico Rosberg said Russell should question Wolff’s message.
“Toto came on the radio and said ‘you can do this Lewis’,” Rosberg recalled. “This is talking about his teammate! If I was George and I listened back on this, I’d be like, ‘Toto, what’s up with that? You should be neutral here’.”
Toto Wolff shares the Mercedes radio that ‘upset’ Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton and Wolff experienced difficult moments in their relationship during his record stay at Mercedes. Perhaps this is inevitable given their differing priorities.
At one point, Hamilton asked Wolff for additional support from Mercedes team co-ordinator Stephen Lord. Wolff initially said no, and only when the veteran driver persisted did he relent.
More significantly, Hamilton was ‘upset’ with Mercedes after their handling of the 2016 title finale. They told him to pick up the pace rather than back rival and teammate Rosberg into the pack, causing friction over that winter.
Fortunately, it seems they leave their working relationship in a good place. Hamilton proved he was the ‘best’ Mercedes driver in Abu Dhabi, Rosberg says, because his last-lap overtake saw him win the overall points battle with Russell.
