Wolff: Russell will definitely be a part of our future lineup

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff reiterates that George Russell is still a part of the team's future despite the British driver potentially spending another year at Williams. With Lewis Hamilton's contract still up in their air, a potential name touted for his seat was Mercedes junior Russell, who substituted for the reigning world champion at the Sakhir. Despite his one-off appearance largely being deemed a success, Wolff says that his time will come in the future, though he did not mention a timeline. “Russell will definitely be part of our future line-up,” said Wolff to RTL Germany. "He will have to rely on that and he will have to be patient, which is not always easy for young dogs." Wolff goes on to state that he is not using Russell's performance at Sakhir as a bargaining tool with respect to the ongoing contract negotiations with Hamilton. "The relationship with Lewis is really too good for that and we have achieved great successes in the past. The main thing is to make the best decisions for both Lewis and the team."