Toto Wolff shifts blame to George Russell over 'embarrassing' Mercedes contract saga

Toto Wolff has blamed George Russell for heightened focus on his Mercedes F1 contract after the team principal once again addressed the ongoing negotiations.

The British racing star's contract expires at the end of 2026, with Russell yet to sign a fresh deal with Mercedes amid the team's talks with Max Verstappen.

Speaking to Sky Sports during the Belgian Grand Prix, Wolff was quizzed by Martin Brundle on Russell’s contract, who asked: "What’s stopping you signing George?

"It must be so embarrassing for him to keep having to turn up at grands prix justifying himself when he’s doing such a good job."

But Wolff claimed it was the media applying pressure on the contract saga, responding: "I think it’s more that you guys make a lot of pressure because it’s an interesting topic.

"It’s completely normal, we have those negotiations and those discussions, every driver wants to have a better car and more money, completely normal behaviour, and that’s not going to be the crucial point."

Wolff claims Russell triggered media attention

Sky Sports presenter Natalie Pinkham further probed Wolff, and asked: "But do you think that George perhaps brought it out into the open about your having conversations with Max because he wanted to expedite this process, because he felt the pressure to do so?"

Wolff shifted the blame to Russell over the matter, stating that his driver triggered the media attention in revealing talks with Verstappen, and thus the contract saga Brundle proclaimed as ‘embarrassing’ for the Brit.

"Well I think he’s now triggered the whole media avalanche," Wolff said.

"I think sometimes, maybe naive, but I try to be transparent with the drivers and I said to him. 'listen, I have the obligation of exploring what Max is going to do in the next few years' and I think he just came out with it wanting to show that, 'I’m aware what’s going on, there’s nothing going on behind my back' and I’m fine with that," he added.

Despite speculation that Verstappen may sign for Mercedes, Helmut Marko confirmed to the media after the Belgian GP that the four-time world champion will remain with Red Bull in 2026, although an official announcement is yet to be made.

However, if Mercedes do emerge as the team to beat in 2026, Russell may once again feel pressure from Verstappen depending on whether a one year contract or multi-year offer is on the table for the Brit this season.

F1 HEADLINES: Verstappen in tense exchange as ‘difficult’ Red Bull talks emerge

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