George Russell may end up being in danger again of losing his Mercedes place to Max Verstappen.

George Russell and Kimi Antonelli will continue as Mercedes team-mates in 2026 (Image: Getty)

Toto Wolff has hinted that Kimi Antonelli will have a place with Mercedes for many years to come despite an at-times difficult first season in Formula 1. The Silver Arrows have high hopes for what the Italian teenager might be able to achieve in the future, after fast-tracking their young prodigy into F1 after Lewis Hamilton chose to leave for rivals Ferrari.

Toto Wolff has hinted that Kimi Antonelli will have a place with Mercedes for many years to come despite an at-times difficult first season in Formula 1. The Silver Arrows have high hopes for what the Italian teenager might be able to achieve in the future, after fast-tracking their young prodigy into F1 after Lewis Hamilton chose to leave for rivals Ferrari.

Antonelli lived up to the hype in the first few rounds of the season, scoring five top-six finishes in his first half-a-dozen Grands Prix and even a pole position for the Miami Sprint race in May. He also secured his first podium at the Canadian Grand Prix the following month, but lost his way somewhat in the middle of the season as Mercedes’ changes to their car, among other factors, threw the teenager off.

A dreadful European season ensued, though he found his form again in the latter stages of the campaign. Antonelli ended the year with six top-six finishes in the final eight Grands Prix, including back-to-back podiums in Brazil and Las Vegas, which saw him end seventh in the drivers’ standings with 150 points scored – just six fewer than Hamilton who endured a miserable first season with Ferrari, though some 169 behind team-mate George Russell who enjoyed an excellent year.

Overall, team principal Wolff was more than happy with what he saw from his younger driver, having predicted before the season began that there would be periods where the talented but raw teenager would leave Mercedes chiefs tearing their hair out. And, having extended Antonelli’s contract into 2026, the Austrian hinted that there will be many more years to come.

Max Verstappen continues to be strongly linked with Mercedes if he chooses to leave Red Bull (Image: Getty)

“When do we expect him to peak? Three, five years from now,” Wolff said during an appearance on F1’s Beyond The Grid podcast. He went on to add: “And that is the time we need to give him.”

That last line suggests Mercedes have no intention whatsoever of allowing Antonelli to be poached by any of their rivals, or head out on a loan-style deal to one of their customer teams, as has been mooted in the past. And that could prove to be significant to the Russell’s future, despite the Brit coming off the back of his best season in F1 to date.

Max Verstappen will undoubtedly be the key player in the driver market this year. The Dutchman has a Red Bull contract until 2028 but it is an open secret in the paddock that his deal contains performance clauses and levers that would allow him to leave if his expectations over the team’s competitiveness are not met.

There is long-held interest in Verstappen from Mercedes with Wolff making no secret last year of his desire to lure the four-time champion to his team if he chose to walk away from Red Bull. He stayed put for another year but will have a decision to make around the summer if Red Bull are not among the front-runners. Russell was believed to be the one at risk last year if Mercedes needed to make room for Verstappen, and the Brit could find himself in the firing line again this time around.