Mercedes told “you’d be a fool not to sign George Russell, unless…”

George Russell has been backed to be retained by Mercedes - until one driver market bombshell move happens.

Russell is still waiting to put pen to paper on a new Mercedes contract, with his current deal set to expire this season.

The driver and team have both emphasised their happiness with each other yet the absence of a contract for 2026 and beyond has got the rumour mill stirring.

George Russell to pen new Mercedes contract?

Anthony Davidson told Sky F1: “I thought Lewis Hamilton would stay at Mercedes when there were rumours he’d go to Ferrari, so I was wrong there!

“I don’t want to assume George Russell is going to stay. But he’s very much a part of the family.

“He is the original young driver to come up through the academy. They nurtured his career through F3, F2 and into Williams with a Mercedes power unit. Now into Mercedes.

"He is a race winner. He is really driving a strong season this year.

“Unless Max Verstappen comes onto the market, you’d be a fool not to sign Russell.”

Red Bull driver Verstappen remains at the epicentre of the F1 driver market despite claiming he will stay put.

There is a widely held belief inside the F1 paddock that Verstappen has an exit clause in his Red Bull contract, which runs until the end of 2028, allowing him to walk away in 2026 if he’s not in the top four of the drivers’ championship by the 2025 summer break.

Verstappen is third, 51 points ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who is fifth, making it extremely unlikely he will fall out of the top four within a short time frame.

But the lack of competitiveness from his RB21, particularly when fighting the McLarens, has caused Verstappen’s future to be constantly questioned.

Russell has even admitted: “If every driver had no contracts for next year, Max would be No 1 for every single team.”

But Russell, who out-qualified then-teammate Hamilton last year and has become Mercedes’ senior driver this campaign, is enjoying a strong season.

He won, last time out, at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix and has four other podium finishes.

That still might not save him.

Jacques Villeneuve has been swift to point out that victory in Canada will not deter Mercedes from replacing Russell, should Verstappen somehow become available.