Russell admits contract limbo unsettling, but says he’s staying patient

George Russell admits his and Mercedes interests may have diverged over the past six months and resulted in a time that has “not been the most assuring” for his and teammate Kimi Antonelli’s futures, although he says he's not feeling under pressure to conclude a new deal.

Max Verstappen’s potential availability led to discussions taking place between team principal Toto Wolff and the four-time world champion, with Wolff informing the drivers of those talks. Antonelli and Russell are both yet to have confirmation of whether they will drive for Mercedes next year, but with an overriding agreement in place and Wolff having a hand in Russell’s management, the Briton admitted the uncertainty has been unsettling at times.

“For my whole career until last year, the team have supported me so much and given me such amazing opportunities,” Russell said. “Our goals have been aligned, and what has been in the best interest of the team has also been in the best interest of me.

“Now, of course, these last six months have been a very unique situation where I don't have huge power in that sort of agreement, and maybe the interests were not aligned for some time, which has, of course, put me at risk for these last six months. But then it was my job to perform and reduce that risk.

“So, I don't know [if taking management into my own hands would be beneficial], to be honest. I don't wish for it to come to anything like that. I still trust Toto and I still trust in the team that they will always support me as long as I'm performing. So that's what I need to focus on. But of course, for both Kimi and I, these past months have not been the most assuring for our future, and that's just been a bit conflicting.”

Despite that outlook, Russell says he is not concerned if a deal is not completed before the summer break, and that actually the wait for confirmation has reduced his impatience.

“Not really, no [it hasn’t been tough getting hold of Wolff]," he said, "because they ultimately hold the cards because of the situation we find ourselves in with the management agreement. So they've had no rush to sign Kimi or I because we've got this longer-term, overriding deal in place.

“But the truth is I've never feared losing my seat and that's not even been on the table once this year, even though, of course, you guys [media] like to make a big deal out of it.

“Maybe 12 months ago I was a bit more anxious and wanted to get something sorted or confirmed for ’26; maybe six months ago I felt the same, but now I'm performing better than ever, I still feel I've got more to give.

“I've waited so long and I think now I want to get through this weekend, I want to go on holiday next week and enjoy the break, and there is no time pressure on my side, there's no time pressure from the team side. So whenever we come to an agreement, we'll get it done, but it's got to be right both ways.”

While RACER understands talks have been progressing positively in relation to a multi-year extension, Russell says he is open to a shorter deal if it gives him the best chance of be" he said. "It has been obviously a bit of a unique situation we found ourselves in over these last six months.

“From my side, I want to win – that is the only thing I care about. More than money, more than number of days of sponsorship, more than anything, I want to win and that for me is the most important thing about my future.”