George Russell has confirmed there are performance-related guarantees in his Mercedes contract to race in 2027 as well as next season, suggesting his seat is safe should boss Toto Wolff pursue Max Verstappen again.
After a long wait for a delay Mercedes confirmed Russell and current teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli for 2026, although details on contract lengths were not included in the announcement.
Russell’s extension had been put on ice while Wolff openly courted Verstappen in the hope he could be lured away from Red Bull for next year.
Sources with knowledge of the deal have told ESPN that Russell’s Mercedes deal is a one-plus-one deal, common in Formula 1, with clauses for a second season if certain circumstances are met.
Russell has confirmed that to be true in an extensive recent interview with The Telegraph.
“It is something I haven’t actually said publicly, but the deal is, if I’m performing [next year], we have a specific clause that if I reach [a target], we will automatically renew for 2027,” Russell said.
“So my seat for 2027 is in my hands.
“So I’m not being strung along here. We’re not going to be in the same position as we were six months ago. If I perform, and I don’t want to go into details, but if I perform, then 100 per cent I’ll be staying.”
The Englishman has won twice this year and admitted the wait for his deal to be finalized ended up being positive.
“Everything works out for the best,” Russell added.
“I actually wanted to sign the deal back in October 2024 but the deal I got today is substantially better than what I would have got had I signed it then. So yeah, sometimes I think you just have to trust in your ability and I feel I’m only getting stronger.”
Clauses in Verstappen’s own deal had opened the door for Wolff to entertain that prospect in the first place. Sources familiar with Verstappen’s deal told ESPN he could have left were he fourth or lower in the championship at the summer break – the Dutchman was third at the end of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
It is unclear whether similar escape clauses exist in the four-time world champion’s contract for 2026 but it is likely there will be some mechanism to escape should Red Bull’s new project with Ford, coming into force under the sweeping rule change coming into effect next season, fall short competitively.
Russell and Verstappen are known to have a frosty relationship, with the Englishman publicly criticising the Red Bull driver ahead of last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, labelling him a “bully” – Verstappen called the Mercedes driver a “loser” in reply.
“We just say hello to each other,” Russell said.
“We don’t really speak. But we don’t ignore each other. I don’t lose sleep over it. And for sure he doesn’t lose sleep over it. So it doesn’t bother me one single bit.
“Life is short. We’re all adults. We all learn from these experiences. You don’t need to be best mates as teammates … Max is an incredible driver. There’s no denying that. But that’s why I would relish going up against him. We all believe we’re the best.”
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Russell and Mercedes hope 2026 is a return to championship-winning form – Russell joined the team in 2022, right as its dynasty period of titles came to an end.
Russell stated after winning the Singapore Grand Prix last month that he feels ready to challenge for a title.
“That’s not just marketing talk,” Russell said of the growing hype around the new Mercedes engine project.
“I’d probably say potentially the only ones who wouldn’t [swap teams] would be the McLaren guys.”
