Today's F1 news as Mercedes make Russell decision and Hamilton retirement fears addressed

Here are your F1 news headlines for Tuesday, August 5.

Mercedes commit to George Russell contract

Toto Wolff has confirmed that George Russell will 'definitely' be a Mercedes driver in 2026 after the 27-year-old beat polesitter Charles Leclerc to the podium at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday.

The four-time Grand Prix winner is out of contract at the end of the season, along with team-mate Kimi Antonelli, and was even reported to be at risk of losing his seat during the Max Verstappen pursuit. However, his long-term future seems to have been settled heading into the summer break.

"Definitely, he's staying," Wolff declared at the Hungaroring. "The team is strong. He has shown it today again."

Lewis Hamilton retirement fears dismissed

Lewis Hamilton's emotional comments after qualifying and the race in Hungary are not a sign that the seven-time world champion is considering a premature retirement from Formula One, according to former boss Wolff.

The Brit was distraught at the Hungarian GP after qualifying and finishing in 12th place, telling Ferrari to "change driver" and suggesting that he is "absolutely useless" on one-lap pace.

"Lewis has unfinished business in Formula One," the Mercedes boss explained. "In the same way that Mercedes underperformed over this latest set of regulations since 2022, he kind of never got happy with ground effect cars, in the same way, it beats him. Maybe it's linked to driving style.

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"So, he shouldn't go anywhere. Next year, brand new cars, completely different to drive, new power units that need an intelligent way of managing the energy. So, that's absolutely on for Lewis, and I hope he stays on for many more years, and certainly next year is going to be an important one."

Yuki Tsunoda is Max Verstappen's 'worst team-mate'

F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve believes that Yuki Tsunoda is Max Verstappen's 'worst team-mate' since joining Red Bull after a miserable Hungarian GP outing.

The Japanese racer has finished 12th or below in each of the last seven Grands Prix and has dropped below Gabriel Bortoleto to 18th in the Drivers' Championship standings. He came unstuck at the Hungaroring as Red Bull experienced their worst weekend of the season so far.

"Tsunoda is probably the worst of them all so far," Villeneuve told Vision4Sport. "A lot of people say it's unfair, that the car is made for Max. But Max might be the only one who actually gives good feedback to the team. So yes, they develop the car, so it gets better and better for him. They're not there trying to make it difficult for the number two driver.

"The thing is, there's not many like Max. If you look in the past, there were more than one at his level in the paddock. And then you had a few good drivers. And then a few average as well. Now there are a lot of good drivers instead of only a few. You don't really have exceptional drivers anymore. So, Max really stands out."