Mercedes AMG Formula One team principal Toto Wolff has stated that he plays “fair” when it comes to contract negotiations. This comes after former F1 champion Nico Rosberg revealed how Wolff’s “tactic” of disappearing when it comes to driver contract negotiations, while referring to the delay around George Russell’s contract extension.
Russell’s contract extension was on hold due to Mercedes’ ongoing talks with Max Verstappen for a potential 2026 signing. Wolff revealed his interest in having the four-time world champion on board Mercedes in the future.
Verstappen, however, confirmed his loyalty to Red Bull, stating that he would continue racing for his team next year, when F1 enters a new era of regulations. While Wolff admitted that Mercedes would head in the direction of signing Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, an extension hasn’t been signed yet, despite just 10 of the 24 Grands Prix remaining for the current season to conclude. Notably, the current contracts of Russell and Kimi Antonelli expire after the 2025 season.
Russell spoke on the topic ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, stating that a contract extension was unlikely to arrive before the summer break. He said:
“I don’t know. You know, there is still no contract on the table, so to have something done in the space of two weeks is unlikely. It’s got to work both ways, and you need to talk about the finer details.”
Rosberg, who raced for Mercedes between 2010 and 2016, pointed out the developments in the Mercedes garage. He said:
“Did you hear George Russell? He was like, ‘Oh, no, definitely I won’t have a contract signed by Hungary. Like, so definitive that he knows nothing’s gonna happen until Hungary, so there must be something cooking there, right?”
He added:
“But it’s like we’re in August then. There’s only a couple of months left after that to the end of the season. And he’s like, ‘oh no, for sure I’m not gonna have a contract yet’ – that’s a bit extreme, no?”
Revealing his experience with Wolff from the past, Rosberg said:
“Toto’s horrible to negotiate with, because his tactic is to disappear. So when you try… like George now, he’s trying to get hold of him, Toto will disappear… George will be trying to write Toto to get him [to get] a move on, or whatever, and Toto disappears.
“By the way, this is not a fact; this is just me making it up. But I remember from my time that was his style, just like disappearing, not answering, being hard to reach… and it’s horrible, because you’re like, ‘come on!’
“You have nothing, you have no chance… do whatever you can; you need to find a way to cross paths.”
When asked by Formula.hu if he was a tough negotiator, Wolff said he always tries to find the “right balance.” He said:
“No, I think I’m fair. I think we should always put ourselves in the other person’s shoes. So I give my soul to the other side and think, if I were them, what would I want to achieve? Then I ask myself, what is fair in this situation?
“What do I think would be the right thing to do? I consider that and try to find the right balance, but obviously there are times when both parties want to optimize this and that, and that can make things complicated.”
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