Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has confirmed that it will retain both George Russell and Kimi Antonelli for the 2026 F1 season.
The Austrian revealed it would continue with its current drivers following a mixed Dutch Grand Prix, which saw Antonelli handed multiple penalties.
Russell salvaged fourth at Zandvoort despite nursing damage after a collision with Charles Leclerc, who was later taken out by Antonelli at the banked third corner.
Antonelli received a 10-second time penalty for the clash, and a further five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane.
It ended the young Italian driver's hopes of scoring points, continuing his difficult run of a single point across the last five grands prix.
Despite Antonelli's recent difficulties, there was never any doubt that he would not be retained, given Mercedes' investment into his development.
As for Russell, there had been some speculation over his future, particularly after the rumours linking the Silver Arrows with Max Verstappen.
However, with Verstappen committed to Red Bull for next year, Russell will remain with the Brackley-based team, although official contracts are yet to be signed by both drivers.
"I always said, there's not going to be any big news because we're doing this," Wolff told select media, including RacingNews365. "We're continuing with both of them, of course.
"With George, there's a few things where we want to optimise some of the travelling and the marketing days, how many hours we're putting [into it].
"He's an experienced driver, and for us, it's always important to talk about it. We want to have the best performance of the drivers, and I think we've given both of them quite a strain with marketing activities and media activities, and this is how we, in a way, recalibrate.
"Is there going to be an announcement in Monza? No. But I don't think it's even going to be a big announcement. It's just going to give you the heads up and say we've put a signature on the agreement."
Most read
In this article
Join the conversation!