Nico Rosberg hands George Russell surprise Toto Wolff contract warning

Nico Rosberg has warned George Russell that Toto Wolff could disappear "off planet Earth" during negotiations over a new Mercedes contract.

Russell is out of contract at the end of 2025, and has been locked in talks with Wolff over a new deal, with the Briton seeking a multi-year deal to protect his position over a longer period of time.

The uncertainty over Russell's future has been fuelled by speculation that Wolff was trying to sign Max Verstappen from Red Bull, with a clause in his contract allowing the Dutchman to leave for 2026.

However, this clause could only be triggered if Verstappen was outside of the top three in the drivers' championship by the summer break, and with one race remaining before then, he is 28 points clear of Russell in fourth, with only 25 left on the table.

Helmut Marko has confirmed that Verstappen will stay at Red Bull for 2026 at least, with Wolff appearing to signal over the Belgian GP weekend that he had given up on signing the four-time champion, until at least '27. 

It clears the path for Russell, and Kimi Antonelli to stay with the team for a second season, but Rosberg, who signed two contract extensions with Wolff in 2014 and 2016 has handed the Briton a warning. 

"It is definitely not a comfortable position for George, because he would like to have it done and dusted," Rosberg explained on the Sky Sports F1 podcast.

"But in my experience, dealing with Toto for contract negotiations is a little bit painful because he just disappears off planet Earth when you're trying to get hold of him. 

"That is his strategy, to strengthen his negotiating position, it is just to disappear, so that is not going to be very comfortable for George, but now that Max is done, maybe things will move pretty quickly, and it is good to have clarity [on Verstappen's future].

"It seems now that the clause has been triggered for him to be obliged to stay at Red Bull, which makes sense for him because it is so difficult to judge which team will be best next year.

"So we have clarity and now we need to see what Mercedes does, do they move quickly? 

"They would have to move quickly to confirm George as a first thing, and then, how quickly do they confirm Antonelli, which I guess at the moment, they would take some more time [over.]"