Former Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg has suggested that George Russell is turning the tables on team principal Toto Wolff amid the pair’s contract negotiations for 2026 and beyond.
Wolff has publicly reaffirmed his commitment to the duo as the core of Mercedes' future, quashing earlier whispers of a seismic Max Verstappen defection.
Yet, with no signatures inked, the negotiations have taken an intriguing turn – one that Rosberg likens to a masterful game of psychological chess.
The Art of Wolff's Elusive Negotiations
Rosberg, who spent seven tumultuous years grinding out victories and titles under Wolff's regime at Mercedes, reflected on his own experience haggling with the Austrian during contract time.
“It’s horrible to negotiate with Toto and he just disappears off planet Earth when you’re trying to get better terms,” he recounted, speaking on Sky Sports F1 Show.
“He just disappears and just doesn’t even let you talk with him. It’s horrible. I suffered a lot.”
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But the German believes that Russell may have flipped the script on his hard-nosed boss and is standing his ground over key clauses, especially compensation.
“Now, it’s George doing the kind of reverse to Toto. It’s like he’s fighting Toto with his own medicine. George apparently is just not happy with a couple of terms in the contract.
“George is a Mercedes junior, so certainly he won’t be on a Lando Norris-level salary, by far and away not, and George feels Lando is equal to him.
“George, by any means, can drive at Lando’s level and can win races and championships if he has the car. So of course, he will feel a little bit of that’s not quite fair, that I’m so far away from Lando’s salary.”
Sponsor Commitments Add Pressure
As F1's financial landscape balloons – with splashy new sponsorships flooding team coffers – the demands on drivers extend far beyond the cockpit. Rosberg highlighted how these deals amplify the off-track grind, turning elite athletes into corporate ambassadors.
“And then also, there’s things like sponsor days," he continued. "Nowadays, these teams have so many sponsors, paying so much money, and the only way for a team to give back to a sponsor is of course logo space, which is limited.
“And they want driver time. They want their customers to be able to meet George Russell, and so they’re using the drivers so much.
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“I’m not allowed to say it’s painful for us, because everybody watching will be like, ‘shut up, you know, you earn so much money, all you have to do is go to a sponsor event, shake some hands, take some pictures, and I’m saying it’s painful’, but it is really painful!
“So George also there, will try and reduce… The number can go up to like 60 days or something, 60 in 365 days. That’s a lot of days. And some of those 60 days are split into half-days.
“So it can actually be like 80 days. That’s a lot, like when all we want to do is go to the Nordschleife and go racing in GT3 cars.”
As Mercedes hurtles toward a pivotal 2026 under new regulations, Wolff holds the keys to a powerhouse lineup.
Will Russell's bold countermove force a breakthrough, or will it spark a rift? Rosberg's commentary adds fuel to the fire, transforming what could have been routine talks into a riveting saga of leverage, loyalty, and the unyielding pursuit of what's fair.
In F1, where alliances shift faster than lap times, this negotiation might just redefine the Silver Arrows' trajectory.
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