George Russell responds to rumours about Mercedes F1 future

George Russell insists he has “literally no stress” about his F1 future with Mercedes despite not yet signing a new contract.

The 27-year-old Briton has been one of the stand-out performers so far this season and sits fourth in the drivers’ championship, just 14 points behind McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Russell has entered the final year of his Mercedes contract but is said to be edging closer to securing a two-year extension reportedly worth around $30m per season.

But there is growing chatter that Mercedes could be holding off handing Russell a new deal while there is uncertainty surrounding the future of Max Verstappen amid Red Bull’s competitive struggles.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff stressed at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix that Verstappen was no longer on the team’s radar and that they were instead focusing on their current drivers, revealing he planned to sit down with Russell about a new deal.

Despite Russell’s hugely impressive form, a new contract is yet to be signed.

“Yeah I’ll be racing for Mercedes this weekend and next weekend. Silverstone I’ll be there as well!” Russell joked when asked about his Mercedes future.

“From my side there is literally no stress, no worries whatsoever. When it comes to contracts everyone gets so excited about it. The fact is, drivers have had contracts and if they don’t perform, they get booted out.

“For all drivers, performance is our currency. That’s what we’ve got and if we perform, everything is good. I’m just excited to go racing this weekend, focus on performance, and the future sorts itself out.”

Could Max Verstappen replace George Russell?

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko's admission after the Bahrain Grand Prix that he has “great concern” about Verstappen’s future, and revelation of the Dutchman’s contract having a performance-related exit clause, has done little to quash rumours linking the four-time world champion to Mercedes.

Several F1 pundits including Martin Brundle and Ted Kravitz have suggested that Verstappen could replace Russell at Mercedes for 2026.

“Rumours are never that truthful are they?” Russell stated.

“As I just said, there’s always so much excitement around contracts but the fact is if you don’t perform, even if you have got a contract, you get booted out. And if you do perform, your future sorts itself out.

“I’m pleased with my racing and how I’m performing, enjoying this season with the team. The performances are the strongest currency so that’s what I’m focused on.”

Asked if any of the rumours relating to a fresh Mercedes deal are true, Russell replied: “A few of them are reasonably close, I guess.

“But at the end of the day we’ve never discussed a contract prior to May or June in a season. I’d say the more abnormal point is how many drivers have these ‘long term’ deals. But they’ve all got exit clauses and performance clauses.

“A driver whose on a three-year contract, it doesn’t really mean anything if they’ve got an exit clause or the team has an exit clause if the driver doesn’t perform.

“It doesn’t really mean a lot. If you’ve got a contract with a team but the team wants you gone, the team finds a way to get you gone. That’s how this sport works and how it should work.

“We’re 20 of the best in the world and it’s ruthless. There’s no time to mess around. All you can do is focus on driving fast.”