Nico Rosberg warns George Russell of the ‘horrible’ contract negotiating tactic Toto Wolff will use at Mercedes

Follow us on Google Discover

George Russell couldn’t do more than secure fifth place for Mercedes at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Mercedes had a very difficult weekend, which shows how much progress their rivals have made in the past 12 months, considering Lewis Hamilton won the last time Formula 1 visited the Belgian Grand Prix.

Kimi Antonelli had a weekend to forget after being eliminated in Q1 in both qualifying sessions and coming nowhere near the points.

Damon Hill is worried about the hype surrounding Antonelli, and it’s now up to Toto Wolff to help him turn things around.

George Russell delivered points for the Silver Arrows in Belgium, despite being outqualified by Alex Albon on Saturday.

He quickly dispatched the Williams driver once the race started, but couldn’t find a way past Max Verstappen and had to settle for 10 points and losing further ground to the three drivers in front of him in the drivers’ championship.

Russell’s Mercedes contract expires at the end of this season, and his future has been widely discussed in the paddock.

Nico Rosberg has recalled his negotiations with Wolff when he was a Mercedes driver, and one of the tactics that his old boss used to use that might be hampering Russell now.

READ MORE: Mercedes driver George Russell’s life outside F1 from net worth to height

Nico Rosberg recalls ‘horrible’ Toto Wolff negotiating tactics at Mercedes

Rosberg was speaking to Sky Sports F1 (27/7 6:02 pm) after the race ended in Spa, and Russell revealed in his post-race interview that no announcement was imminent about a new deal: “Did you hear George Russell? Oh no, definitely, I won’t have a contract signed by Hungary.

“That’s so strange, that it’s so definitive that he knows nothing is going to happen until Hungary.

“So, there must be something cooking there, right?

“We’re in August now, there’s only a couple of months left after that until the end of the season, and he’s like, no, for sure, I’m not going to have a contract yet.

“That to be is an extreme, no?”

Rosberg was then asked how hard Wolff is to negotiate with and continued: “Toto’s horrible to negotiate with!

“His tactic is to disappear! So, when you try like George now to get hold of him, Toto will disappear!

“George will be trying to write to Toto to get him a get a move on or whatever, and Toto disappears.

“I remember from my time, this is his style, disappearing, not answering, being hard to reach, being hard to get, and it’s horrible because you’re like, come on, but you have no chance!”

READ MORE: All you need to know about Mercedes F1 CEO and team principal Toto Wolff

George Russell unlikely to lose Mercedes F1 seat despite Max Verstappen interest

The only reason Russell won’t be a Mercedes driver next season is if Wolff somehow convinces Verstappen to leave Red Bull this winter.

Verstappen is likely to stay at Red Bull, although his long-term future with the Anglo-Austrian team is far from certain.

Even though Antonelli is struggling, Mercedes are expected to stick with both drivers heading into 2026.

That should fill Russell with plenty of confidence, considering many people in the paddock believe they’ll have the best power unit when the regulations change next season.

Unless Antonelli suddenly takes a huge step forward, it would make Russell the lead driver in what’s expected to be a championship-challenging car.

It’s why he needs to find a way to negate Wolff’s disappearing act and put pen to paper as soon as possible.