Toto Wolff shares the Mercedes ‘surprises’ which made George Russell ‘unstoppable’ at the Singapore Grand Prix

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George Russell’s second victory of the 2025 Formula 1 season seemed to come out of nowhere after blitzing his opposition at the Singapore Grand Prix.

The Briton has been one of the more consistent drivers this season, and only lies fourth in the drivers’ championship as a reward for his efforts. There’s certainly an argument that he has been a top-three driver for the majority of the campaign, having missed out on points just once.

With his Mercedes future confirmed, Russell might just have driven the price of his next contract up a little. Clearly, he values long-term security, which hasn’t been promised to him yet, but the Singapore Grand Prix has proven that he certainly deserves it.

Mercedes staff were surprised at Russell’s win and didn’t expect their car to end up being so fast around the Marina Bay street circuit. Russell explained his contract situation and admitted that there is no need to rush anything, but there seems to be an air of inevitability about any deal now.

READ MORE: Martin Brundle reveals why he thinks Mercedes haven’t announced Kimi Antonelli’s new F1 contract

Toto Wolff admits F1 rivals’ ‘surprises’ helped make George Russell ‘unstoppable’ in Singapore

Max Verstappen made Russell nervous with his choice of soft tyre to start the Singapore Grand Prix. His intent to snatch the lead before turn one was clear, but rain had washed away a lot of the rubber from the grid, leaving the Dutchman with an average getaway.

Jenson Button believes no one is better than Russell in 2025 and that he has been doing an exquisite job for the Silver Arrows. Looking back after the race, he seems to have made the right call, with nine top five finishes in his last 10 races.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says the ‘surprises’ created by variable performances were part of the reason for their success, but also mentioned that Russell, in combination with his machine, was ‘unstoppable’.

“These cars are simply full of surprises. If you asked McLaren why the last three races haven’t gone their way, they’d probably struggle to find an answer,” he said, according to the Spanish edition of Motorsport.com.

“And it’s the same with Max recovering and then lacking performance again today, and the same with the Ferraris fluctuating between success and failure.

“The margins are simply very small to have the car in the correct aerodynamic window, to extract that maximum mechanical grip without destroying the tyres, and the sweet spot of the Pirellis, obviously,” Wolff continued.

“That doesn’t always correlate with what you see in the virtual world, in simulations, with what happens on the track. But [in Singapore], from the very first moment, the tyres, the driver and the car were in sync and unstoppable.”

READ MORE: Martin Brundle names ‘extraordinary’ driver as the most underrated on the 2025 F1 grid

Why George Russell deserves more praise for his performance in 2025

Although there has been plenty of mention about Verstappen bringing himself back into the picture of the title fight, Russell’s showings have been forgotten about.

Actually, he only trails the reigning champion by 36 points in the standings, which means he is less than 100 points behind Oscar Piastri in the title race, with six rounds to go.

Obviously, he’s not a contender, but it does show how remarkably consistent he has been throughout the season, while teammate Kimi Antonelli has struggled.

Heading into the 2026 F1 regulations, things are now headed in the right direction for Russell, who must be considered a title contender.