Wolff insists that the contract is close by for ‘Formidable’ Russell | Racer

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff insists that a new contract has almost been agreed with George Russell in the aftermath of his victory in the Singapore Grand Prix.

At the end of the season, Russell is without a contract and must not yet close for the conditions for an extension, despite the fact that the current Mercedes-Line-Up will continue in 2026. Russell took his second victory of the year in Singapore-a location where he was from a podium place in 2023 and Wolff said the 27-year-old.

“I think we have seen George in the past with these moments [of mistakes]But not recently, and that is the step he also made this year, that these things no longer happen, “said Wolff.” He had control over the race, to carry out an advantage, to manage it when Max [Verstappen] Was a bit closer and there was never doubt that there was a risk in his driving.

“He has been formidable this year. I have not seen any mistakes. There were weekends that he himself said I could have done more, that it was not a good race, but this happens with a driver.

“You can see when it just merges – the car is in a perfect space and the driver is on top of things – that will be the dominant formula, and that is what we have seen here.

“What the contract is, good things take a while. It’s about detail and it’s not about the big subjects.”

Russell’s victory came after Mercedes had yielded an unexpectedly strong performance throughout the weekend and Wolff admitted that he was not sure where the pace came from in Singapore.

“You know that with these cars they are just a surprise box,” he said. ‘If you ask McLaren why the last three races have not disappeared [as well]They would probably struggle for answers. Max returns in the same way and then lacks performance again [on Sunday]And the same with the Ferraris that oscillates between success and failure.

“It’s just that the margins are so small in having the car in the right aerodynamic window, when extracting the maximum mechanical grip without killing the ties, and the sweet spot of the Pirellis, of course. And it does not always correlate what you see in the virtual world, in the simulations, what happens on the track.”