Informed that George Russell has emerged as the bookmakers’ favourite to win the F1 2026 Drivers’ Championship, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says that is a “deserved” tag for his driver.
That is because, according to Wolff, Russell is “one of the best” out there on the Formula 1 grid. But, despite all the pre-season hype, Wolff cautions that Mercedes are yet to prove that the W17 is a car worthy of challenging for the title.
Toto Wolff: George Russell ‘deserves’ F1 2026 title favourite tag
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As anticipation continues to build for the new season, and new era of Formula 1 with completely revamped chassis and engines regulations in play, all teams bar Williams got a first feel for the F1 2026 machinery in Barcelona, as part of a five-day, closed-doors test.
Verified, unofficial times had Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari in P1 by the end of the test, but Mercedes allegedly impressed, only further strengthening the buzz around that team going into the new season.
Wolff, when speaking with PlanetF1.com and others, was told that Russell is the odds-on favourite with the bookmakers to win the F1 2026 Drivers’ Championship. Wolff was therefore asked whether he believes Russell can fight for the title.
“It’s always nice if your driver is the favourite and for the bookmakers, and I think he deserves it, because he’s one of the best,” said Wolff.
“He’s shown us where the performance of the car is, and been overall, more than great to us.
“But also there, it is always best driver and best car wins, and we haven’t yet proven that we have a package that is good enough. We haven’t been in the hot in Bahrain, with the abrasive tarmac which was always tricky for us.
“So, I’d hope the bookmakers are right, but I’ll believe it when we have seen performances that would confirm that.”
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Mercedes was unable to challenge for the title in Formula 1’s previous, ground effect era.
As the sport now embraces a new formula, Wolff was asked whether anything less than a title challenge under this ruleset would be a failure for Mercedes.
“Failure is such a harsh word in a way,” he said.
“We’re into these regulations for the next few years, and how I’d like is to see the way we’re thinking about it is not always the optimisation on a weekend or a season, but seeing an upward trajectory.
“So whatever the pace is that we’re coming out of the blocks, I’m certain there will be challenges. Our own challenges, the relative performance against the others.
“Let’s see how it goes, and let’s see whether we have a car that has the potential to fight for a championship. But you know, I’m the glass half empty person. I don’t see any of that. At that stage, I’m wary and sceptical.”
Wolff was also quizzed on where he expects Kimi Antonelli to be at, in his second season of Formula 1, compared to the title favourite Russell.
Antonelli responded well to a mid-season slump in his rookie season, ending 2025 with three podiums.
Wolff said: “As for Kimi, he’s completely on the trajectory that we’ve always mapped out at the beginning of last year, first year in Formula 1, with this huge circus coming upon him, the obligations with the media, the requests from sponsors and fandom, and that’s exactly why we had very good performances, and then some races where he struggled more.
“So now there’s no doubt about his speed and about his race craft. He’s going into his second season. He knows all the tracks. He knows all of you guys. He knows most of the other requirements.
“So I’m absolutely certain that it will be a good year for him.
“Having said that, I don’t think we should expect him to be like George all the time. George is one of the best ones. He’s been in Formula 1 a long time. He’s a benchmark, and Kimi is 19, and is going into his second season. We’re going to see another step, that I’m certain about.”
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Additional reporting by Mat Coch
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