(Motorsport-Total.com) – According to Ralf Schumacher, Mercedes will not play a role in the “Silly Season” in the Formula 1 summer of 2026. The expert assumes that the Silver Arrows will also start next year with Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.
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While Antonelli, as the current championship leader, is likely to be set at Mercedes anyway, there are always speculations about the future of teammate Russell – often also in combination with a possible signing of Max Verstappen.
“If I were his manager, I would of course prefer to place [Max] at Mercedes,” expert Jenson Button recently said to Sky. But Ralf Schumacher does not consider this option to be an overly realistic scenario.
Although Russell is currently receiving “fairly a lot of criticism,” Schumacher said in the podcast Backstage Boxengasse by Sky. Because despite his experience, the 28-year-old Briton has so far regularly been slower than Antonelli this year.
However, Schumacher points to the “very long relationship” between Mercedes and Russell, who already joined the Silver Arrows’ junior program in 2017. Therefore, the expert cannot imagine that Toto Wolff will show Russell the door.
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“Why should he replace him? He has a driver he has known for a long time, whom he can assess,” said Schumacher, who suspects that Russell has his place secured, “as long as he […] does not start to become political” or “goes against Antonelli too much.”
Because team boss Wolff has repeatedly emphasized in the past that he has no interest in the toxic scenario from the era of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg repeating itself. But if that does not happen, Russell does not have to worry according to Schumacher.
Sportingly, there is at least no reason on paper for Mercedes to change the driver pairing for 2027. The team currently leads the Constructors’ Championship and holds the first two places in the Drivers’ Championship.
Therefore, Toto Wolff recently also made it clear to Sky: “We do not want any change. I am satisfied with our two drivers. This driver pairing is good for us.”
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