Aston Martin boss responds to George Russell links for F1 2026

Aston Martin CEO and team principal Andy Cowell has downplayed reports linking his side with a move for Mercedes driver George Russell.

Russell’s contract expires at the end of the season and he is yet to be given a fresh extension by Mercedes despite his excellent start to the campaign.

The delay in handing Russell a new deal has prompted speculation that he could be replaced at Mercedes by Max Verstappen, who is known to have held talks with the Silver Arrows as he weighs up his own F1 future.

Aston Martin are reportedly targeting Russell for F1 2026 despite both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll being under contract.

However, Cowell stressed Aston Martin are focused on “stability” with their current driver line-up, with their 2026 design already being tailored to suit Alonso and Stroll.

"We're super fortunate. We've got this exciting run into 2026," Cowell told media including Crash.net at Silverstone on Friday.

"And as Christian mentioned, changing the power unit. We're working with Honda on that. Changing the aerodynamics. We've got Adrian working on that. We've got new facilities.

"But the stability that we've got in having Lance and Fernando signed up for next year means that they're not only helping us now develop the tools that we're using for 2026, 2027, and beyond, but they're working directly on the concept of the car.

“The discussions in the wind tunnel are about the aerodynamic shape, but they're also about, you know, driver environment, how much space is there in the cockpit," Cowell continued.

"Adrian intends not to leave much space in the cockpit. Everything's exceptionally tight. But that stability of having two drivers signed up through into 2026 is really helping us.”

Crash.net witnessed Aston Martin tech guru Adrian Newey working on his drawing board late on Thursday evening during a tour of their state-of-the-art factory at Silverstone.

In the same press conference, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner blamed Russell for fuelling rumours linking Verstappen to Mercedes.

Horner also said it is “remarkable” Russell, who won the Canadian Grand Prix, is yet to receive a new deal given his impressive performances this season.