The unwritten guidelines of contract negotiations in Components 1 state that prize property needs to be saved underneath lock and key. But one of many star performers of the 2025 season, George Russell, nonetheless doesn’t have a Mercedes contract in his pocket for subsequent 12 months. Even after crowning a formidable marketing campaign thus far with victory from pole place within the Canadian Grand Prix, he shrugged off solutions there’s trigger to fret, saying, “I’m not involved in any respect about subsequent 12 months; I do know I’m going to be on the grid,” however till he places pen to paper the uncertainty about the place stays.
That applies to Mercedes as a lot as Russell. Whereas the 27-year-old has been on its books for the reason that begin of 2017, his scenario means that he’s obliged to guage alternatives elsewhere and there’s no lack of groups who would have an interest even when there are few apparent vacancies for subsequent 12 months. The whole lot factors to a brand new Mercedes deal, and shortly, though the hesitation is all about Max Verstappen. Mercedes and staff principal Toto Wolff have flirted with Verstappen for a while, and whereas there may be even an outdoor likelihood the reigning world champion would possibly pressure his means out of Purple Bull the door will likely be saved open. With the possibilities of that receding, an prolonged keep for Russell appears seemingly.
“He’s been so lengthy with us and he is rising,” mentioned Wolff after Russell’s Montreal win. “The steps he is created from the younger driver in Williams, then coming to Mercedes at a troublesome time, being on par with Lewis [Hamilton] after which since Lewis left being clearly the chief of the staff, it comes naturally. It is not like there’s some politics. He’s simply taken the place that he deserves and deserves.
“The atmosphere within the staff is nice and we have agreed on some type of timeline once we need to settle these items, with tripleheaders getting out of the way in which and one race after the opposite now in June and July. However we will get there.”
It is a win-win scenario for Mercedes. Signing Verstappen could be a no brainer for any staff given he’s F1’s pre-eminent driver, single-handedly maintaining Purple Bull close to the entrance, but it surely’s a long-shot at greatest and in Russell Mercedes already has an impressive driver in place. Kimi Antonelli, who’s producing an excellent however not but nice rookie marketing campaign, is on a long-term deal, so it could be Russell who could be reluctantly sacrificed if a change had been made. Given how a lot Mercedes has invested in him, it’s nearly for one of the best that Verstappen isn’t out there as it could be a giant name to sacrifice a driver you’ve developed, particularly one working at such a excessive degree.
Russell’s rise to close the highest of F1 has been one among sustained progress, beginning together with his early promising performances in an uncompetitive Williams in 2019 and rising to some dizzying peaks with the staff – notably his wonderful second place on the grid within the moist at Spa in his third season. Whereas that farcical race-that-never-was means that is usually ignored, what was technically his first F1 podium end in 2021 was totally deserved because of that sensational lap. He’d already served discover of his front-running credentials by all however profitable the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix on his one stand-in outing for Mercedes in direction of the tip of his second season in F1. If something, his promotion to Mercedes for his fourth 12 months in 2022 got here a 12 months late. Russell would certainly agree, given his arrival coincided with the Mercedes domination of F1 – profitable 15 out of a possible 16 world championships over the earlier eight seasons – ending.
That’s to not say that Russell was with out jagged edges that wanted rounding off throughout his Williams stint. Like all inexperienced drivers, there have been errors, most notoriously crashing underneath the protection automobile whereas heading in the right direction for his first factors at Imola in 2020 (dubbing it an “novice mistake”) then wiping out Mercedes stablemate Valtteri Bottas on the similar monitor a 12 months later. That was a humbling lesson given his preliminary defiance gave option to apology, a climbdown past some much less sturdy drivers mentally.
The tendency to make errors carried over into his Mercedes profession. He made a huge impact by performing effectively in comparison with Hamilton in his first season in 2022, albeit whereas nonetheless on a steep studying curve when it comes to having the ability to match his teammate’s tire administration. There have been errors too, together with clashing with Mick Schumacher at Singapore – an incident that he largely evaded criticism for – however nothing too problematic. His crowning glory was in Brazil the place he gained each the dash and the grand prix, the latter holding off Hamilton within the closing phases.
Russell’s upward curve wavered in 2023 as whereas he remained fast, the errors began to grow to be an issue – an off throughout the Monaco Grand Prix, crashing in Canada, clipping the wall and firing himself into the barrier whereas third on the final lap in Singapore as he seemed for a well beyond Lando Norris, and colliding with Verstappen in Las Vegas. By his personal measure it was “a very scrappy, messy season.”
The tempo has at all times been there, however in 2025 Russell has proven higher resilience underneath strain too. James Sutton/Getty Photos
Final 12 months felt like a possible inflection level, both confirming Russell was a fast however erratic racer who could possibly be relied upon to select up occasional wins in the correct equipment or exhibiting he actually had the flexibility to be a serial winner. He proved to be the latter, producing a robust season through which he comprehensively outperformed Hamilton in qualifying and raced effectively. Victories in Austria – lucky given the late Norris/Verstappen crash however a reward for having locked down third place behind them in a automobile that would do no higher – Las Vegas and on-the-road earlier than his exclusion for the automobile being underweight at Spa had been the end result. Actually, Russell felt the Belgian Grand Prix “win” was his greatest, the consequence of a well-managed one-stopper that he pushed for.
However Russell’s calling card was his qualifying supremacy over Hamilton – on adjusted common 0.215% sooner, which equates to 0.172s over an 80-second lap. Of their first two years collectively the battle swung backwards and forwards, however in 2024 Hamilton was dominated in qualifying in a means that had by no means occurred earlier than. Whereas Russell accepts the driving model demanded of the present era of floor impact vehicles performed its half, he additionally burdened qualifying has lengthy been a energy.
“My pure driving model has labored effectively in these vehicles,” he mentioned on the finish of the season. “However equally, my qualifying data in opposition to my teammates within the earlier era [of cars] had been good, and in each class my qualifying data have been robust. So I do not assume there’s something specific with this era. However clearly Lewis has been my hardest teammate, in order that’s why it has been highlighted a bit extra.”
Hamilton’s struggles have continued at Ferrari. His late-braking model and discomfort with an excessive amount of high-speed rear instability should not suitable with floor impact vehicles that have a tendency in direction of understeer into the slower corners and oversteer within the quick turns. Russell’s benefit is he’s a easy driver who tends in direction of being earlier on the brakes to settle the automobile and due to this fact make sure the aerodynamic platform is well-balanced. He then combines that with monumental dedication when it comes to entry pace. Whereas early braking would possibly sound conservative, it’s important to control the automobile on the brakes to get the entrance finish into the corners and that’s a method Verstappen and Charles Leclerc additionally shortly received on prime of when the present floor impact vehicles had been launched in 2025.
To this point this season, Russell has largely been untroubled by Antonelli – the exception being qualifying in Miami the place in each the dash and foremost periods he struggled to get the tires within the window. That’s an outlier given usually he has excelled on that rating this 12 months, getting startlingly near pole place on a variety of events earlier than lastly breaking by in Canada.
So what of the longer term? Regardless of the place he’s in 2026 – and barring an sudden driver market twist it will likely be Mercedes – his nascent battle with Verstappen is an enchanting one. He’s made his intent to defy F1’s prime canine emphatically clear each on monitor and in what he says off it, most famously criticizing him for bullying different drivers. The duo has had a sequence of flare-ups, with the Qatar qualifying session when Russell, cleverly or cynically relying in your perspective, induced Verstappen into selecting up penalty for impeding. That led to some harsh phrases from Verstappen after profitable the race which Russell used as a cause to offer him each barrels in very calculated media interviews in Abu Dhabi – the primary with a small media group together with RACER.
Verstappen will get in lots of drivers’ heads, however might it’s the opposite means round with Russell? Clive Rose/Getty Photos
It is an intriguing battle, one which has solely been sporadic thus far given the various competitiveness of the Purple Bull and Mercedes vehicles lately. Russell sees himself as a driver able to standing as much as Verstappen and beating him, laying down a sequence of markers he hopes will give him the higher hand in the event that they do battle for a championship sooner or later. Whereas Verstappen will again himself to be faster than Russell, he has proven indicators of letting the Mercedes driver get to him. In Montreal, Russell made a quip after taking pole place about having extra license penalty factors to play with and Verstappen made it clear with what he mentioned afterwards that he was fed up with references to being one level away from a one-race ban being triggered. Russell in all probability sees that as a win within the psychological battle.
Russell and Verstappen’s F1 fates are intertwined, however regardless of the circumstances the duo seem destined sooner or later to have a season the place they repeatedly do battle on monitor – and present efficiency tendencies imply that would even be one thing the second half of 2025 has in retailer. It’s a tantalizing prospect as whereas Verstappen could be favourite, as he’s proven again and again that he’s one of many all-time greats, Russell has set himself as much as be the driving force who topples him.
The query now’s whether or not Russell has the razor-sharp edge when it comes to tempo and racecraft to make good on this ambition. Whether or not he succeeds or fails, the battle could possibly be F1 field workplace gold.
