2025 Mercedes-AMG | Petronas F1 Team

[avantman]

I'm fairly certain Toto and Max are having discussions about 2027, not 2026. Unless something unexpected happens, Max will stay at Red Bull next year, and George is going to sign an extension before the summer break.

makes no sense to make a deal on 2027 in advance. If Max was never going to move to Mercedes for 2026, he would want to see how competitive they will be in 2026 first and talk after. and both Russell and Antonelli's contracts would've been prolonged quietly in winter.
For sure it is all about 2026 and every latest rumor has it performance clauses in Max contracts are tied to the end of July in other words summer break effectively. Saward for example said Max can trigger it if RBR is not within top 3 in WCC by the end of July. Cerasoli said it is about top 2 in the Drivers'. Most likely both are true.

[Matt2725]

I don't see why they'd be talking about 2027. If I'm George, I'm not taking anything less than a 2+1 which would mean I'm in there until at least the end of 2027, unless they want to pay me out a lot of cash.

[Tonino]

I don't see why they'd be talking about 2027. If I'm George, I'm not taking anything less than a 2+1 which would mean I'm in there until at least the end of 2027, unless they want to pay me out a lot of cash.

Let’s be real, George has no leverage here. Aston Martin is a fantasy in the short term; Lawrence Stroll isn’t going to kick out his own son to make room for George, no matter how much people want to speculate. Alonso is already locked in for 2026. Mercedes holds all the cards in this situation, not George. Sorry, but he’s just not in a position to demand anything, as of now, he has nowhere else to go.

[Tonino]

I'm fairly certain Toto and Max are having discussions about 2027, not 2026. Unless something unexpected happens, Max will stay at Red Bull next year, and George is going to sign an extension before the summer break.

makes no sense to make a deal on 2027 in advance. If Max was never going to move to Mercedes for 2026, he would want to see how competitive they will be in 2026 first and talk after. and both Russell and Antonelli's contracts would've been prolonged quietly in winter.
For sure it is all about 2026 and every latest rumor has it performance clauses in Max contracts are tied to the end of July in other words summer break effectively. Saward for example said Max can trigger it if RBR is not within top 3 in WCC by the end of July. Cerasoli said it is about top 2 in the Drivers'. Most likely both are true.

I never said they’re signing a deal now. What I said is that they’re discussing an option for 2027. I’m pretty sure Max wants to see where things stand next year before making any decisions. Anything can happen, and it's far from guaranteed that any team will nail the 2026 regulation change.

As for the performance clauses in Max's contract, there probably are some, but I just don’t see him jumping ship this year, not unless the situation at Red Bull completely implodes or becomes genuinely untenable. That said, I hope I’m proven wrong. I’d love to see Max join us, I genuinely see him as one of the all-time greats.

[Gillian]

I'm fairly certain Toto and Max are having discussions about 2027, not 2026. Unless something unexpected happens, Max will stay at Red Bull next year, and George is going to sign an extension before the summer break.

makes no sense to make a deal on 2027 in advance. If Max was never going to move to Mercedes for 2026, he would want to see how competitive they will be in 2026 first and talk after. and both Russell and Antonelli's contracts would've been prolonged quietly in winter.
For sure it is all about 2026 and every latest rumor has it performance clauses in Max contracts are tied to the end of July in other words summer break effectively. Saward for example said Max can trigger it if RBR is not within top 3 in WCC by the end of July. Cerasoli said it is about top 2 in the Drivers'. Most likely both are true.

I never said they’re signing a deal now. What I said is that they’re discussing an option for 2027. I’m pretty sure Max wants to see where things stand next year before making any decisions. Anything can happen, and it's far from guaranteed that any team will nail the 2026 regulation change.

As for the performance clauses in Max's contract, there probably are some, but I just don’t see him jumping ship this year, not unless the situation at Red Bull completely implodes or becomes genuinely untenable. That said, I hope I’m proven wrong. I’d love to see Max join us, I genuinely see him as one of the all-time greats.

What if Mercedes is the best team in 2026 and take WDC + WCC with Russell and Antonelli. Why would they then take Verstappen for 2027? To me it does not make sense for either party to now discuss 2027. I think Verstappen will join, if he will, for 2026.

[avantman]

I don't see why they'd be talking about 2027. If I'm George, I'm not taking anything less than a 2+1 which would mean I'm in there until at least the end of 2027, unless they want to pay me out a lot of cash.

Let’s be real, George has no leverage here. Aston Martin is a fantasy in the short term; Lawrence Stroll isn’t going to kick out his own son to make room for George, no matter how much people want to speculate. Alonso is already locked in for 2026. Mercedes holds all the cards in this situation, not George. Sorry, but he’s just not in a position to demand anything, as of now, he has nowhere else to go.

Yeah, exactly. I wouldn't say Russell is generally overrated, but amongst team bosses he hasn't been rated as highly as f1 fans, Mercedes fans in particularly rate him, like top 2 or top 3 driver on the grid and the next most talented driver after Max, or even his equal.
I think season end team principals' top 10 drivers ranking are very meaninful and Russell was in the top 3 only once in his whole career.
He was rated:
9th in 2019
6th in 2020
8th in 2021
3rd in 2022
9th in 2023
and 6th in 2024
For example Leclerc was in Top3 already 4 times. Norris 3 times. Do I even need to mention Max who was rated 4th best as a rookie at 18 in 2015 and has never been outside TOP 2 since 2016?

So, George's peak ranking was in his first season next to Lewis, but everyone understood quickly after Hamilton's level was already very overrated.
Many people were very impressed with George in 2024 as well, but we now see Leclerc beats Lewis even more convincing.
We fans can have our opinions but in the end of the day it's team principal who take decision on drivers.
Reality is, George Russell would not be top 3 pick for any top team. He has no leverage in negotiations with Mercedes and rumor has it that Aston interest was never real, this story has been thrown in the media by other party.

[Matt2725]

I don't see why they'd be talking about 2027. If I'm George, I'm not taking anything less than a 2+1 which would mean I'm in there until at least the end of 2027, unless they want to pay me out a lot of cash.

Let’s be real, George has no leverage here. Aston Martin is a fantasy in the short term; Lawrence Stroll isn’t going to kick out his own son to make room for George, no matter how much people want to speculate. Alonso is already locked in for 2026. Mercedes holds all the cards in this situation, not George. Sorry, but he’s just not in a position to demand anything, as of now, he has nowhere else to go.

Yeah, exactly. I wouldn't say Russell is generally overrated, but amongst team bosses he hasn't been rated as highly as f1 fans, Mercedes fans in particularly rate him, like top 2 or top 3 driver on the grid and the next most talented driver after Max, or even his equal.
I think season end team principals' top 10 drivers ranking are very meaninful and Russell was in the top 3 only once in his whole career.
He was rated:
9th in 2019
6th in 2020
8th in 2021
3rd in 2022
9th in 2023
and 6th in 2024
For example Leclerc was in Top3 already 4 times. Norris 3 times. Do I even need to mention Max who was rated 4th best as a rookie at 18 in 2015 and has never been outside TOP 2 since 2016?

So, George's peak ranking was in his first season next to Lewis, but everyone understood quickly after Hamilton's level was already very overrated.
Many people were very impressed with George in 2024 as well, but we now see Leclerc beats Lewis even more convincing.
We fans can have our opinions but in the end of the day it's team principal who take decision on drivers.
Reality is, George Russell would not be top 3 pick for any top team. He has no leverage in negotiations with Mercedes and rumor has it that Aston interest was never real, this story has been thrown in the media by other party.

That was then. I think you'd be hard pressed to argue he's been anything less than top 3 on the grid.

He'll end up ranked fourth at best despite being more consistent than either of the McLaren pair but that's another story. But there's always been a case of certain drivers being underrated and others overrated.

I maintain Leclerc often gets overrated compared to his actual performances, but that's just my opinion.

[zibby43]

It would be a well-deserved extension for George. He's extracting the maximum from the car and is performing as one of the top 3 drivers on the grid thus far this year, IMO.

100%, George has been top notch for 2 season now. And from historical precedent Merc do their driver business in late July through to August.

Very good point.

[kurtj]

I don't see why they'd be talking about 2027. If I'm George, I'm not taking anything less than a 2+1 which would mean I'm in there until at least the end of 2027, unless they want to pay me out a lot of cash.

Let’s be real, George has no leverage here. Aston Martin is a fantasy in the short term; Lawrence Stroll isn’t going to kick out his own son to make room for George, no matter how much people want to speculate. Alonso is already locked in for 2026. Mercedes holds all the cards in this situation, not George. Sorry, but he’s just not in a position to demand anything, as of now, he has nowhere else to go.

Yeah, exactly. I wouldn't say Russell is generally overrated, but amongst team bosses he hasn't been rated as highly as f1 fans, Mercedes fans in particularly rate him, like top 2 or top 3 driver on the grid and the next most talented driver after Max, or even his equal.
I think season end team principals' top 10 drivers ranking are very meaninful and Russell was in the top 3 only once in his whole career.
He was rated:
9th in 2019
6th in 2020
8th in 2021
3rd in 2022
9th in 2023
and 6th in 2024
For example Leclerc was in Top3 already 4 times. Norris 3 times. Do I even need to mention Max who was rated 4th best as a rookie at 18 in 2015 and has never been outside TOP 2 since 2016?

So, George's peak ranking was in his first season next to Lewis, but everyone understood quickly after Hamilton's level was already very overrated.
Many people were very impressed with George in 2024 as well, but we now see Leclerc beats Lewis even more convincing.
We fans can have our opinions but in the end of the day it's team principal who take decision on drivers.
Reality is, George Russell would not be top 3 pick for any top team. He has no leverage in negotiations with Mercedes and rumor has it that Aston interest was never real, this story has been thrown in the media by other party.

The problem with statistics is, they conceal more than they reveal. Driving absolute turds that Mercedes have managed to produce after their dominance met the dust, even a peak 7 time WDC struggled to consistently get the best out of them. Every race was an experimental laboratory and yet, George consistently delivered week in, week out. That's not something you can measure with statistics. Team Principal's ratings aren't gold standard of measuring performance. They are riddled with bias and reward outcomes more than potential and circumstances under which the performances have come.

Charles is definitely fast, but has dumped a winning car so many times. He has been error prone in hard racing. He has far more bad performances in quali than good ones, despite the car being there for good positions, often failing to understand the car's setup and/or potential. George is definitely better overall driver than Charles.

[Quantum]

For example Leclerc was in Top3 already 4 times. Norris 3 times.

That really should tell you all you need to know.

[OverheatedTurbo]

For example Leclerc was in Top3 already 4 times. Norris 3 times.

That really should tell you all you need to know.

Those ratings are too high for a fraud like Norris. George and Lec to me are very similar but I give GR the edge in the mental aspect. These team boss ratings are nonsense. Norris top 3? Yeah right.

[Quantum]

For example Leclerc was in Top3 already 4 times. Norris 3 times.

That really should tell you all you need to know.

Those ratings are too high for a fraud like Norris. George and Lec to me are very similar but I give GR the edge in the mental aspect. These team boss ratings are nonsense. Norris top 3? Yeah right.

Exactly. Norris is quick(!) but top 3?
LeClerc...for me at least Jury is still out. I like the guy just think when all is said and done George would have him.

[Lasssept]

[dialtone]

That really should tell you all you need to know.

Those ratings are too high for a fraud like Norris. George and Lec to me are very similar but I give GR the edge in the mental aspect. These team boss ratings are nonsense. Norris top 3? Yeah right.

Exactly. Norris is quick(!) but top 3?
LeClerc...for me at least Jury is still out. I like the guy just think when all is said and done George would have him.

If only they had the same team mate in consecutive years to compare them.

[SB15]

From Mercedes-AMG Passion Club on X

Toto : “The only positive aspect I take away from this weekend is that we tried something extreme. In Montreal it had worked, here it didn't. We could have used last year's setup and maybe, I don't know, we would have ended up on the podium.”

“We tried to take something from Barcelona and Montreal, in terms of trim and aero mechanical balance, but it was the wrong choice.”