George Russell’s ongoing contract extension talks with Mercedes are for a multi-year deal, which might heighten the opportunity of the Brit being paired with Max Verstappen sooner or later.
Russell’s future has been topic to hypothesis over latest months with Mercedes delaying rewarding the 27-year-old, whose present contract expires on the finish of this yr, with a brand new deal amid their makes an attempt to poach Verstappen from Pink Bull.
Nevertheless, with Verstappen showing extremely prone to stay with Pink Bull for not less than the 2026 season following Christian Horner’s sacking as group principal, Mercedes chief Toto Wolff hinted – throughout an interview with Sky Sports activities F1 on the Belgian Grand Prix – {that a} new deal for Russell may very well be agreed earlier than the summer time break, which follows this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
Sky Sports activities Information understands that the potential extension can be a multi-year deal, which might tie Russell to the group till not less than the top of the 2027 season.
With the season simply previous its midway stage, Russell has delivered his most full F1 marketing campaign up to now, dragging probably the most out of Mercedes’ inconsistent W16 to say a victory and 4 additional podium finishes.
Requested whether or not he believed the contract delay was making Russell carry out higher, Wolff instructed Sky Sports activities F1: “As a driver, he is so mature and steady that I do not suppose that makes any distinction on efficiency.
“On the contrary, I would wish to have him in a safe place a little bit earlier. We haven’t managed to do that but I’m optimistic that he’s going to sleep well over the summer break.”
Whereas Wolff suggests he’s dedicated to each Russell and his present team-mate Kimi Antonelli for the 2026 season, a potential multi-year deal for the Brit retains alive the opportunity of him being paired with four-time reigning world champion Verstappen at a later date.
Many view the pairing as unrealistic because of an uncomfortable relationship between the pair that has seen them conflict in a unprecedented style each on and off monitor in latest instances.
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George Russell takes a dig at Max Verstappen after beating him to take pole in Montreal
Wolff, as he has carried out beforehand, refused to rule out the pairing for the longer term and in contrast it the legendary mixture of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost at McLaren within the late Eighties.
“This [Russell and Verstappen pairing] is all more in the, let’s say, long-shot, far-fetched,” Wolff stated.
“Because I want to stay with Kimi and George as it stands, everything else is not realistic.
“However clearly [if] you could have a Russell-Verstappen line-up that is Prost-Senna I suppose, no?”
‘Russell triggered the media avalanche’
Russell created one thing of a media frenzy on the Austrian Grand Prix in June by revealing – throughout an interview with Sky Sports activities F1 – that he believed his contract was being delayed as a result of Mercedes had been speaking to Verstappen.
Till that time, Mercedes had performed down the suggestion that Russell’s contract extension was being delayed by something aside from customary negotiation factors.
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Chatting with Sky Sports activities, George Russell admits it is regular for Mercedes to have chats with different drivers, however is unconcerned following his robust efficiency this season
Wolff rejected Sky Sports activities F1 pundit Martin Brundle’s suggestion that the scenario was “embarrassing” for Russell, providing another rationalization for his driver’s determination to make extra particulars of the scenario public.
“I think it’s more that you guys (the media) make a lot of pressure and because it’s an interesting topic it’s completely normal,” he stated.
“I think he’s triggered the whole media avalanche. I’m sometimes maybe naïve, but I try to be transparent with the drivers, and I said to him, ‘listen, I have the obligation of exploring what Max is going to do in the next few years.’
“And I feel he simply got here out with it wanting to point out, ‘I am conscious of what is going on on, there’s nothing taking place behind my again.’ And I am nice with that.”
What does Mercedes managing Russell imply?
Russell’s choices through the saga have been restricted by the truth that in addition to driving for Mercedes, he’s managed by the group.
Due to this fact, any talks he holds over transferring to a different group would technically need to be dealt with by Mercedes.
Russell joined Mercedes’ younger driver programme in 2017, earlier than being loaned out to Williams for 3 seasons and ultimately changing Valtteri Bottas as Lewis Hamilton’s team-mate on the Silver Arrows in 2022.
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Requested to make clear the scenario, Wolff defined: “We try to pick up young drivers very early in their careers and we are financing all of it so we’re not asking any contribution from the parents or any sponsors.
“And for that, for a sure time we have now the managerial rights, and it is similar to what Pink Bull has.”
Quizzed on whether the arrangement creates difficulties in contract negotiations, Wolff added: “We have now these negotiations and people discussions.
“Every driver wants to have a better car and more money. Completely normal behaviour and that’s not going to be the crucial point.”
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