Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff hints at Russell-Antonelli contract change if Mercedes stars collide

Mercedes

Toto Wolff hints at Russell-Antonelli contract change if Mercedes stars collide

George Russell and Kimi Antonelli are fighting for the title at Mercedes

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Monday 15 June 2026 16:57

Mercedes F1 team principal Toto Wolff has revealed that there could be a change coming to his drivers' contracts.

Wolff is currently trying to manage the dynamic between his two drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, who are both going for the world championship.

We appear to have a three-way fight for the drivers' championship, with seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton - Wolff's former driver - closing the gap to Antonelli in the standings to 41 points after a stellar victory in Barcelona last weekend.

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Wolff used to have to manage Hamilton and his championship rival Nico Rosberg in a similar way, as the pair of them were involved in three fierce championship battles.

Wolff even implemented a rule in which the two drivers would pay for damage caused to their cars, in an attempt to cool the 2016 championship battle which was hampering Mercedes' constructors' chances.

Now, he has suggested that a collision between Russell and Antonelli might cause him to act in a similar way with them.

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Do F1 drivers have to pay for damage to their cars?

Not normally, no. But following their crash in Spain 2016, Wolff told Hamilton and Rosberg that from that moment onwards, no matter whose fault it was, they would both split the bill for their damaged cars 50-50 if they collided again.

Rosberg revealed that he had to pay $360,000 to fix some damage later in the season, after signing the piece of paper from Wolff agreeing to do this.

When asked by Rosberg on Sky Sports F1 if Antonelli and Russell have the same line in their contract that he had when driving for Mercedes where the drivers had to pay for the damage if there was an intra-team collision, Wolff said: "No. You have given me a good idea actually but maybe if there's another collision then probably I will put that paper in front of them."

Rosberg joked that his former boss had gone soft, but the German may have just landed the two current Mercedes stars in hot water.

What happened between Hamilton and Rosberg?

Hamilton and Rosberg were team-mates at Mercedes between 2013-2016, and when Mercedes became the dominant team in the sport in 2014, they were involved in three consecutive world championship battles.

Hamilton won the title in 2014 and 2015, before Rosberg won in 2016.

A number of fiery clashes occurred between the drivers during those seasons, however, most memorably at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix when they crashed into one another, something that Mercedes boss Toto Wolff recently revealed made him temporarily sack both drivers.

After winning the 2016 championship, Rosberg opted to retire from the sport at the age of just 31, and he now works as a broadcaster for Sky Sports F1 and Sky Germany. He revealed only recently that he and Hamilton had repaired their relationship.

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F1 Mercedes George Russell Toto Wolff Andrea Kimi Antonelli