Courtesy: F1

Courtesy: F1

George Russell, who is in the final year of his contract with Mercedes, revealed that his team are talking to four-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen about potentially signing him for next season. Max Verstappen is under contract to Red Bull until the end of 2028, but the deal is said to have break clauses that the world champion could use to exit. Russell, who won the Canadian Grand Prix, made the mega revelation while discussing why he has not yet signed a contract extension with Mercedes.

After Lewis Hamilton decided ahead of the start of last season that he would leave Mercedes to join Ferrari in 2025, the Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff made a very public pursuit of Max Verstappen. But Verstappen and Russell have had a series of clashes on and off the track over the past 12 months, thereby instilling doubt in the mind of Mercedes about pairing them together, should the opportunity arise.

"It's only normal that conversations with the likes of Verstappen are ongoing," said George Russell to Sky Sports. "But from my side, if I'm performing as I'm doing, what have I got to be concerned about? There are two seats in every Formula 1 team," he added.

Doubts linger on George Russell’s contract extension with Mercedes

The 27-year-old British driver, who won in Canada two weeks ago, is out of contract at the end of the 2025 season with Mercedes.He is currently fourth in the driver standings behind Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris and Verstappen. Mercedes had plans to bring Max Verstappen to their team last summer to replace seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, a spot that has been taken up by 18-year-old sensation Kimi Antonelli currently. 

"It’s not something that I’m pressing massively because, as I’ve always said, the performance is the priority, and I feel that the performance I’m showing at the moment is still in line with the performance I’ve shown over all these years. I’ve got zero reasons to be worried. But obviously, it does help if there was pen on paper. But let’s see," said George Russell when he was asked about the extension of his contract.

Verstappen was also asked about his plans to which he replied that 2026 is not really in his mind right now and at the moment he wants to focus on his performances with Red Bull. Verstappen's short-term future appeared to be uncertain in the early stages of the season as speculation over a release clause fuelled suggestions he could move to Mercedes in the next season.