Toto Wolff Gives Cryptic Update On George Russell Contract Talks

Russell was dominant at the Marina Bay Circuit on Sunday even after a difficult start to the weekend. He crashed out in second practice to leave him without soft tire running ahead of qualifying, yet on Saturday he set two lap records in Q3 to take pole position.

From there Russell controlled proceedings to take victory from Red Bull's Max Verstappen, reversing the placings from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix two weeks prior.

It was Russell's second win of the season after he triumphed at Canada's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, yet he still hasn't been tied down by the Silver Arrows, with the first half of the campaign rife with speculation over a potential move for four-time champion Verstappen.

Speaking after Russell's win in Singapore, Wolff insisted, as per Autosport: “Contract-wise, good things take a while. It's about the detail, and it's not about the big topics.”

Further questioned by Sky Germany as to when the saga will be wrapped up, the Austrian added: “We’ll announce it soon enough."

No mistakes

Russell is in his first season as the German manufacturer's lead driver having joined for the 2022 season following an F1 education at Williams for three years, stepping up to lead rookie Antonelli after seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton made the move to Ferrari over the winter.

Praising the Russell's form, which has helped Mercedes into second in the constructors' title behind McLaren but ahead of Ferrari and Red Bull, Wolff added: “He's been formidable this year.

“I haven't seen mistakes. There were weekends that he himself said, ‘I could have done more, and I wasn't a good race’. But this happens with any driver. You can see when it just merges, the car being in a perfect space, and the driver being on top of things, that becomes a dominant formula, and that is what we've seen here.”

Russell sits fourth in the F1 drivers' standings with six races remaining, with 36 points between him and third-placed Verstappen. Antonelli is seventh in his first season with 88 points.

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