Nico Rosberg empathizes with the current situation George Russell finds himself in. The British driver is still awaiting a contract extension from Mercedes, and the German finds it strange that it’s taking so long. However, Rosberg knows from his own days as a Mercedes driver what it’s like to negotiate with team boss Toto Wolff: ‘Toto just completely disappears.’
Nico Rosberg himself drove for the Silver Arrows until 2016, and therefore knows from personal experience what it’s like to negotiate with team boss Toto Wolff. According to the German, the Austrian has a tendency to ‘disappear’ while contract negotiations are underway. Rosberg therefore sympathizes with George Russell, who does not yet have a contract with Mercedes for next year.
“Did you hear George Russell? He said: ‘Oh, I definitely don’t have a contract extension when we go to Hungary’,” Rosberg begins in an interview with Sky Sports F1 in Belgium. “So he’s sure nothing will happen before Hungary, so there must be something going on, right?” The Hungarian Grand Prix takes place a week after the race at Spa, but according to Rosberg, that doesn’t matter. “Because then it’s already August. Just a few more months and it’s already the end of the season. And George is sure he won’t have a contract by then. That’s a bit extreme.”
‘Negotiating with Toto is Terrible’
The 2016 world champion then describes what it’s like to negotiate with team boss Wolff. “Negotiating with Toto is terrible, because his tactic is to simply disappear from sight,” the 40-year-old explains. “So if you’re trying to, as George is doing now, get a hold of him, Toto just disappears. George will try to urge Toto to hurry up, and Toto just disappears.”
Although Rosberg admits he’s not entirely sure if his depicted situation at Mercedes is accurate, this was indeed Wolff’s approach during the German’s time at Mercedes. “That was his style, just disappearing from sight. Not responding, being hard to reach. And it’s terrible.” A small consolation for Russell is that Wolff has stated in Spa that the priority within Mercedes is to focus on the current line-up. Also, reportedly, Max Verstappen can no longer make use of an exit clause in his contract after the Belgian Grand Prix.
