George Russell once rejected a Mercedes contract offer from Toto Wolff before the pair eventually joined forces, with the British driver leading the team’s charge in 2025

Toto Wolff was rejected by George Russell before eventually joining Mercedes(Image: Clive Rose, Getty Images)

George Russell boldly rejected Toto Wolff’s advances a decade ago before rising to become Mercedes’ leading driver. In his early motorsport career, Russell was courted by high-profile teams as he shone in the lower tiers, with Wolff seeking out the young British talent during his early years in charge at Mercedes.

While excelling in the European Formula 3 series and pondering his next step, Russell engaged in discussions with Wolff but ultimately chose to join the UK-based squad Carlin, backed by Volkswagen. He also declined an offer worth “a lot of money” from BMW, wary that it might hinder his chances of joining Mercedes in the future.

Russell, who eventually teamed up with Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes full-time after three years at Williams, told Motorsport Magazine in 2022: “I was already having conversations with Toto and Mercedes prior to joining Carlin and Volkswagen.

“I actually had a deal on the table to have almost the same backing from Mercedes as I had from Volkswagen. But because there wasn’t an opportunity open at PREMA [a team with Mercedes links], the next team I would have had to join would be a German team called Mucke Motorsport, who I felt, for my first season F3, wouldn’t be as well suited to me as a British team in Carlin.”

Russell politely declined Wolff’s offer via email, only to be told he was making a mistake. Russell added: “So after my meeting with Toto at the start of 2015, I sent him an email just to say, ‘I really appreciate the meeting and thanks for all of your advice. Just to let you know, I’ll actually be joining Carlin and Volkswagen as opposed to Mücke Motorsport and Mercedes because I believe it’s better for my career.'”

Russell has emerged as Mercedes’ lead driver on the last couple of years(Image: Dave Benett – Formula 1, Dave Benett/Formula 1 via Getty Images)

“And I had the opinion that if I went out and did a good job, Mercedes would still be interested. So he replied back, ‘I think you’re making a wrong decision but let’s stay in touch and let’s see where we go from there.'”

However, Russell and Wolff’s partnership was not too far away as the driver joined the Mercedes junior programme in 2017. Wolff later influenced Russell’s step up to F1 with Mercedes-powered Williams in 2019.

Russell memorably stood in for Hamilton at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix after the seven-time world champion had been sidelined by Covid. Russell almost beat team-mate Valtteri Bottas to pole and was on course to win the race until a Mercedes pitstop error wrecked his chances.

Mercedes is interested in signing Max Verstappen, possibly at the expense of Russell(Image: GIORGIO VIERA/AFP via Getty Images)

He eventually joined the team full-time in 2022 and has four wins to his name, the last of which came at the recent Canadian Grand Prix, where he finished just in front of Max Verstappen.

Despite his stellar 2025 performances, rumours persist that Verstappen might take his seat in 2026, with Wolff making no secret of his desire to land the four-time world champion.

However, Russell, who has been linked to Aston Martin, has no issue with his team’s interest in his arch-rival.

“Why wouldn’t teams be interested in Max? If every driver had no contracts for next year, Max would be No.1 for every single team. And that’s understandable,” he said ahead of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix.