Wolff admits Russell ‘giving us all the reasons’ to sign new Mercedes deal after Canada pole

Toto Wolff has acknowledged that George Russell is giving the Mercedes team “all the reasons” to sign a new deal with him, with the Briton putting in an impressive performance to secure pole position in Qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix.

After taking P1 on the grid for last year’s race in Montreal, Russell followed this up by doing so again for the 2025 event, the Briton beating Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by 0.160s with a lap of 1m 10.899s.

READ MORE: Russell beats Verstappen and Piastri to pole in thrilling Qualifying for Canadian GP

Speculation swirled earlier in the season over whether Russell was about to extend his stay with the Silver Arrows, with his current deal running to the end of 2025. When quizzed about this on Sky Sports F1, after the 27-year-old’s stunning pole at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, team boss Wolff conceded: “He’s giving us all the reasons to do that quickly.

“We know what he’s capable of doing and he has been leading this team now since a while. He has the pace and the right attitude. He’s been a Mercedes junior [for] such a long time, and we are on track in doing what we’ve always planned.”

While Mercedes have collected their fair share of pole positions over the years – having achieved this a whopping 134 times since returning to F1 as a constructor in 2010 – Wolff admitted that Russell’s P1 in Canada ranked as one of the best.

“[It’s] right up there because if you look at the competitive field, with Max on the medium [tyre] as well, the McLarens, the Ferraris strong, and he was able to pull a lap off,” said Wolff. “I think he was the only one in the 1m 10s. Very, very, very strong lap from him.”

READ MORE: Russell hails Canada pole lap as ‘one of the most exhilarating of my life’ as he looks ahead to fight with Verstappen

In terms of whether the lap came to Russell through the session or if the squad had been making adjustments too, the Team Principal explained: “We were so competitive in the free practice sessions that we were almost a bit surprised.

“At the beginning of Qualifying it wasn’t coming easy, and then on the last two runs on the soft [tyre] it just kept coming, and on the medium you could see, I guess as a driver you almost come into this buzz within yourself. The delta time was going quicker and quicker, so it was a mega lap.”

Looking ahead to Sunday’s race, all eyes will be on how Russell and Verstappen go racing off the back of their collision last time out in Spain, an incident that resulted in Verstappen receiving a 10-second time penalty as well as picking up three penalty points on his licence.

“We need these situations anyway so everybody’s looking forward to having these two ahead,” Wolff commented on the potential battle between the pair.

READ MORE: Verstappen vs Russell Part II and Tsunoda fighting through from the back – What To Watch For in the Canadian GP

“They will not want to give an inch, and if we can maintain our performance levels in the race as well – I’m always a bit sceptical with the heat – it’s going to be exciting.”