George Russell has made it clear that there will not be any extension of contract with Mercedes in the upcoming few weeks. The British racer's future was associated with Max Verstappen in the last few months. With Verstappen announcing his stay at the Red Bull clears the way for George's extension with Mercedes.
Times of confusion for George Russell
Since 2022, George Russel has been a part of Mercedes. He replaced Valtteri Bottas at the squad as he partnered with the seven times F1 champion, Lewis Hamilton. After spending three years at Mercedes, he became a part of the leadership group.
The 2025 season became a turning point for George Russell. His contract comes to an end this season, however he was forced to wait by Mercedes boss Totto Wolff to analyse the situation with Max Verstappen at Red Bull.
With Max Verstappen staying at Red Bull for 2026, everyone expected George Russell's contract extension. The British racer informed Sky Sports that the announcement of an extension will take some time and nothing should be expected during the Summer break. He said:
"I've got nothing to be worried about. And nothing's going to happen over summer because, honestly, I just want to have a rest and recharge and come back stronger for the second half of the year. But there's no time pressure either way now. So it'll happen when it will happen.”
This season, George Russell has been kept on standby for some time by Toto Wolff, as the racer admitted in Silverstone that an announcement would have been great to boost the confidence.
Following Max Verstappen's announcement that he is staying at Red Bull, Russell George is likely to be the driver at Mercedes for the next season. Although, he made it clear that the timing has to be perfect, and he does not want to rush anything. He says:
“I'm 27 now, I've been with the team for four years. Next year would be my fifth. We want to build the relationship together, but it's got to be right and I don't want to rush it. I've been waiting 12 months. I'm not going to just rush it in the course of two weeks. So we'll sit down when the time is right.”
It would be interesting to see how things will unfold for George Russell.
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