Toto Wolff has dropped a big hint as to George Russell’s future with Mercedes, with the British driver’s contract up for renewal.

Russell is in the final year of his current Mercedes deal, and his future with the Brackley-based squad looks a little clearer following comments made by Toto Wolff in Friday’s press conference in Miami.

Toto Wolff: George Russell part of the Mercedes family

Russell is one of the only front-running drivers without a contract in place for next season, with the likes of Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, Oscar Piastri, and Lando Norris all locked down with long-term deals.

Every race weekend that goes by takes Russell a little closer to the end of his existing two-year deal, with the British driver having stepped forward into the defacto team leadership role following the departure of Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari.

Reports had emerged recently that Russell had already signed a deal with Mercedes for next year, reports which are understood to have been incorrect as Russell’s contract status remained unchanged.

But a little light may have been shed on Mercedes’ intentions for next year as Wolff spoke glowingly about Russell in Miami, with his driver a dark horse in this year’s title fight as he arrives at the sixth round of the championship in a close fourth place.

Asked directly whether Russell will be renewed at Mercedes, Wolff said, “George is part of the Mercedes family and has always been and, as I see things today, why break a team that is on a trajectory that I see as positive?”

The responsibility of leading Mercedes forward in Hamilton’s wake is one Russell has taken up with aplomb, with Wolff saying there are no question marks over the performance level of Mercedes’ car in Russell’s hands.

“I think it becomes so obvious when a seven-time world champion leaves the team with which he was for 12 years… George, who’s been always, like everyone, a little bit in the shadow of Lewis Hamilton,” he said.

“He is now the one that gives the direction, he is the one that you can rely on… [with] George, you know where the pace of the car is. That is important, and this is what we do.”

Opening up on whether the dynamics within the Mercedes garage have changed in recent months with the departure of Hamilton after over a decade in the squad, Wolff said, “No, I wouldn’t say so, because Lewis was part of the family, and obviously, as a racing driver, he knew exactly what he wanted but the engineers, the mechanics, knew him, he knew them.

“We got along, you know, you have good days, bad days, you have strengths and weaknesses, but if you know someone that well, it’s easy to manage that.

“Now, the dynamic is different. George has massively stepped up as the senior driver in the team. Kimi is almost like the young brother that’s come in. They work together well, which is very pleasing to see. Kimi doesn’t stress too much.

“He’s just building up constantly and, on George, you can rely on him when it comes to lap times and the racing. So spirits are high.”

Russell and his new teammate Kimi Antonelli have proven a formidable pairing so far this season, with the W16 a competent and competitive car out of the starting blocks for the year.

“The car is much easier to set up,” Wolff said.

“At least you know when you put more flap in and the car does what you expect it to do which, in previous years, wasn’t the case.

“It’s more predictable but the underlying issue, obviously, is keeping the tyre temperatures in the window, and that’s something we just haven’t found a way around doing it really well.”

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