Mercedes would not have been able to take the risk of promoting Kimi Antonelli without already having George Russell, according to a message Toto Wolff sent to the entire team.
Antonelli joined Mercedes in 2025 after seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton moved to Ferrari. In only his second season in the series, the Italian driver became the youngest world champion in the history of F1 at the Mexican Grand Prix. Russell, on the other hand, has endured a frustrating year, despite helping the team to the constructors’ title in Brazil.
Speaking on the NU Silver Arrows Radio Show, deputy team principal Bradley Lord revealed that Wolff had used an email to the factory to underline Russell’s part in the team’s success.
“Toto made a brilliant point last week: he sent an email to the whole factory, and he made the point that without a driver of George’s calibre, we as a team strategically would not have been able to take the risk of bringing a rookie in as we did with Kimi and take that calculated risk, but a risk nonetheless,” Lord said.
“And that’s because we know in George we have a driver who is capable of racing for and winning world championships. It’s really important that we don’t lose sight of that in the excitement around Kimi’s story and his development as a Mercedes-grown driver from the junior programme.”
Russell entered the 2026 season as a clear favourite for the title. But after winning the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and the Chinese sprint race, he encountered numerous issues, most of which were outside of his control.
Lord described 2026 as both the best and the hardest year of Russell’s F1 career.
“It’s been both the most successful season of his career in Formula 1 and the most challenging and disappointing season for him at the same time,” he said. “As you say, he’s absolutely been through the wringer in terms of some of the misfortune that he’s suffered. Each time he’s had a disappointment, he’s also shown himself capable of bouncing back from it.”
George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
Lord added that he had reminded Russell in the engineering office after the Sao Paulo Grand Prix that the constructors’ title was still “your first championship”. Russell did contribute three points to Mercedes’ 2020 crown as Lewis Hamilton’s stand-in at the Sakhir Grand Prix, but this is his first title as a full-time Mercedes driver.
Technical director James Allison praised Russell’s honesty about where Antonelli has had the edge this season.
“He’s one of the most honest drivers I’ve ever had the good fortune to work with. He can see the areas where Kimi has been quicker than him this year, and he knows that those are things he needs to bring to the table to compete on equal or better terms with this precocious young talent,” Allison said.
“And I do very much admire the fact that he looks straight down the barrel of that.”
Russell is third in the championship, 17 points behind Max Verstappen in the battle for second.
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