'Mercedes is a Pressure cooker'- Toto Wolff warns Russell and Antonelli over F1 contracts

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff recently talked about their new drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell. He was questioned about the two drivers' contract with the Mercedes team ahead of the 2025 campaign. Wolff said, “These two are the future.” The Austrian added, “They have been and will be Mercedes drivers and therefore, we have contracts with George and Kimi that go much longer that are very complicated in terms of options.”

Also Read: F1 Tracks open to the Public: Drive your car on Iconic Race Circuits

Mercedes is a Pressure Cooker

He also warned the drivers about the work environment and called it a 'Pressure cooker'. Toto says, "And this is a pressure cooker. Mercedes always has been a pressure cooker, but this is where we stand as a team today, we want to go with these two. I think, like with times in the past, we always had very short contracts with each of the drivers- even with Lewis last time around, was one plus one. And this is, in a way, how the team operated. But I think the most important is to see how george and Kimi settle in, and I see no reason at that stage of not giving them the faith and the trust to go forward.”

Also Read: F1 legend Michael Schumacher turns 56: celebrating the GOAT life

Toto Wolff said the terms with the drivers are private and they are 100% sure about their driver choices this year. Lewis Hamilton shocked everyone by announcing that he would leave Mercedes by the end of the 2024 season. Kimi Antonelli was immediately announced as the replacement driver.

Also Read: Ranking 2025 F1 driver duo: Hamilton and Leclerc are not the strongest duo

Lewis moved to ferrari in place of Carlos Sainz and from this season, he will race in red. The 7-time world champion has won most of his achievements at the Mercedes team winning 6 drivers championship and helping them win 8 constructors titles. Lewis Missed his 8th world title due to a controversial call at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Now he will look to win his 8th championship at Ferrari and if he wins he will forever be called as the greatest driver of all time. For all these to happen, first Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton should sync. We believe it will be easy as Fred Vasseur and Hamilton’s relationship is very tight even before his F1 debut as he was his boss during his GP2 days in 2006.

Also Read: Formula 1 2025 calendar is out: Season kick starts at Albert Park and ends in Yas Marina