Mercedes confirmed its 2026 duo

George Russell and Kimi Antonelli will continue in the Silver Arrows next season, which will come with changes to the technical regulations.

The Mercedes-Benz novel is over: George Russell and Kimi Antonelli will continue as the titular duo in 2026. After multiple speculations and back and forth, finally both riders will continue in Brackley next season, which will come with new technical regulations that will modify the cars and engines.

The delay in signing was always appeased by Toto Wolff, team director, who assured that his boys would continue, but the only thing missing was the signature. In the middle, the Austrian’s flirtation with Max Verstappen was notorious and was visible: they even shared a yacht in Sardinia during the summer break.. Toto had already waited until the last minute in 2024, but the Dutchman’s title stopped everything. This year, by not having a super winning car in his RB21, the four-time champion of the energy drinks team’s chances of exit grew, but he was left on a clean sheet when Max announced his continuity in Milton Keynes for next year.

From there, all that remained was to polish the details of Antonelli and Russell’s contracts. One of the points was the duration, especially with English. The ex-Williams was looking for a multi-year relationship, while Wolff was thinking about just one year. It’s just that, yes, he thinks about Max again. If, under the new regulations, Red Bull fails to deliver a winning car to its star, Don Toto will be hovering around again.

The other doubt passed through Antonelli. The young Italian had a very good start in his debut season, but then his performance plummeted. He had a rise in the last two races (Azerbaijan and Singapore) that raised the Bolognese’s actions, but his name became linked to a possible move to a Mercedes client for 2026 (Alpine or Williams). Wolff deactivated the chance in recent days.

Finally, 48 hours before the start of the official activity of the United States GP, Mercedes announced the renewal of its two drivers for 2026. The fact is that in neither case is there any mention of the duration of the bond. “George and Kimi have proven to be a solid duo and we are excited to continue our journey together,” said Wolff. on their pilots, both emerging from the lower divisions of the Silver Arrows. “Confirming our driver line-up was always a matter of when, not if we would do it. We wanted to take our time, manage the negotiations properly and make sure that everyone, on all sides, was happy. I am pleased to have achieved this. George and Kimi have proven to be a solid duo and we are excited to continue our journey together,” Toto added.

“I am very proud to continue our journey together. Next year will be my tenth since signing with Mercedes in 2017. “It has been a very long and successful collaboration with the team so far, and I am looking forward to seeing what the future holds, especially as we embark on one of the biggest rule changes in the history of the sport next year.” Russell said, who has just won the Singapore GP.

For his part, Antonelli said: “I am super excited to continue in the team. I learned a lot in my first season in F1. both in the good times and the most difficult. All of this has made me stronger, not only as a driver, but also as a teammate. I want to thank Toto and everyone at Brackley and Brixworth for their continued support and belief in me. Our aim now is to finish this year strong and secure second place in the Constructors’ championship, before focusing on 2026. We still have a lot to achieve in these last six races and we will give it our all.”