George Russell has expressed optimism that he will remain on the Formula 1 grid in 2026, even in the circumstance where he doesn’t receive a new deal at Mercedes.
Russell disclosed in the build-up to this weekend’s British Grand Prix that there has been no progress on conversations with Mercedes regarding a contract extension.
There has been heightened speculation surrounding the Briton’s prospects since he divulged last week that Mercedes is engaged in active talks with Max Verstappen.
But despite Mercedes boss Toto Wolff’s admission that he has been in contact with the Dutchman, Russell has been insistent that he is not concerned about his seat.
However, Russell, who revealed that he hasn’t been in touch with rival teams, is convinced he won’t be resigned to the sidelines should Mercedes opt not to retain him.
Asked how confident he is about the possible alternatives he could have lined up, Russell told media including Motorsport Week: “Yeah. Pretty confident, to be honest.
“Because I think what I’ve proven so far is plenty enough and not really much more to say.
“Any teams who did reach out in the past, I said, ‘look, I am loyal to Mercedes’. That’s where my future lies.
“Ultimately, Mercedes are my managers, so it has to be dealt through Mercedes in the first place. But there hasn’t been a lack of interest, let’s say.
“But I’ve been focused on my side. I am loyal to Mercedes.
“At the end of the day, everything will work itself out. And the likelihood I’m not at Mercedes next year, I think is exceptionally low.”
Russell expects Mercedes talks to advance soon
Russell anticipates discussions with Mercedes will progress over the coming weeks, as he denied that he has an internal deadline in mind to have his future arranged.
“There’s not really any deadline in place, to be honest. Obviously, naturally, you try and have stuff done before the summer break,” he explained.
“From my side, Mercedes manage me as well, so it’s not really a deadline in my hands as such. So, yeah, not really. And I’m not even thinking about it right now.
“Obviously, there’s a lot of questions about it. But the more we speak, the less we speak about it, nothing really changes.
“It’ll happen when the time is right. I expect probably in the next couple of weeks, probably something to happen. But, yeah, we’ll need to wait and see.”
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