George Russell swerves 2027 talk as Mercedes locks in 2026 — with Verstappen still lurking in the background
George Russell played it cool at COTA. Cool enough to skip a tap-in. Asked point blank whether his new Mercedes deal stretches into 2027, he chose not to say, preferring the safety of performance clichés over contract specifics. That’s not nothing.
What we do have: Mercedes has confirmed Russell alongside Kimi Antonelli for 2026. What we don’t: the term. Stuttgart’s announcement was conspicuously light on duration, and that’s where this gets interesting.
Team boss Toto Wolff was transparent about having at least kicked the Verstappen tires earlier this year. Once Max made it clear he wasn’t leaving Red Bull for 2026, the idea cooled, but it still took two more months for Mercedes to actually publish its lineup. The absence of fine print for Russell and Antonelli isn’t accidental. In the paddock, the working theory is a multi-year agreement with flexibility—think 1+1 options that let either side blink next year if the landscape shifts.
Which matters, because if Verstappen re-opens the shop window in 2026, Mercedes will want the agility to make space. Antonelli, 19, will only be entering his second season by then. Russell, meanwhile, will be 28 when the new regulations land and expected to carry the fight if the car’s good enough to deliver it.
Russell’s stance? Merc is still his best shot. “If every single seat was available for next year and I could choose any team to race for, I believe Mercedes is my best chance of winning the championship next year,” he told reporters on Thursday. “For me, it’s more about winning than it is about money or sponsor days.”
Then came the 2027 question. And the swerve. “It always just comes down to performance,” he said. “Our intention and my goal is to continue with Mercedes indefinitely. We’re here to focus on winning in 2026, and that’s that.”
Behind the scenes, there were the usual contract wrinkles—marketing days, structure, and, yes, the number. Russell’s previous salary lagged behind some of his contemporaries; the new deal is understood to lift him to around £30 million a year. “Given the situation and circumstances with me and the team, Toto could have been substantially tighter if he wanted to be,” Russell said with a smile. “He really recognises that you need to reward those who are delivering… That’s the bonus, but the main goal for me is a fast race car.”
And that car could be a handful—in a good way. The 2026 reset will put power units and efficiency back at the center of the equation, and the paddock whispers are kind to Brackley and Brixworth. If Mercedes lands the new regs with a tidy chassis and a sharp PU, Russell instantly becomes one of the early title favorites. If not, a deal with options is a useful safety valve for both sides: an exit for Russell, a path for Mercedes to go big-game hunting if a certain Dutchman sends up a flare.
For now, Russell isn’t entertaining the what-ifs. “Next year is my fifth year with the team. If we’re not winning, that would be very disappointing for both of us, but that is not something we’re even thinking about,” he said. “If we’re the favourite, or the least favourite, I go about my business exactly the same, and all of that external noise is squashed.”
What has helped mute the noise is the driving. Russell’s form has been emphatic in 2025: a polished win in Canada, then a controlled Singapore victory just before Mercedes pushed the button on its announcement, plus a stack of podiums in between. It’s the kind of run that stiffens a negotiating hand—even if, in Russell’s case, those negotiations are handled by the same organisation he races for, a quirk of coming through the Mercedes junior ladder.
“Toto has always been incredibly good at rewarding those who he feels deserve it,” Russell said. “You do the job on track and leave the rest to me’—to this day, he has still never let me down in that regard.”
As for the speculation, Russell laid it at the media’s feet with a grin. “All of that was coming from you guys. It made exciting news, but the reality was quite different. I’m very happy and excited about continuing with Mercedes… because I believe this is my best chance to win.”
Read between the lines and nothing is set in stone beyond 2026. That suits everyone. Mercedes gets commitment and flexibility, Russell gets the team he wants under the rules he wants, and the Verstappen cloud can hang just light enough to keep the headlines flowing.
The rest will be decided where Russell likes it best—at full chat, visor down, when 2026 finally turns a theory into a race car.
