George Russell has made it clear he isn’t “going anywhere” at Mercedes, shutting down speculation over a potential exit and confirming he’s held no talks with other Formula 1 teams.
The British driver has been at the centre of a saga involving himself and Max Verstappen, after previously revealing that Mercedes had held talks with the Dutchman.
Russell’s comments drew criticism from Red Bull, with Christian Horner suggesting Mercedes had its “own issues” to address amid the speculation stirred by the Silver Arrows pilot.
Helmut Marko dismissed the remarks as part of a “theoretical game,” implying Russell was making such claims to strengthen his own position in negotiations with Mercedes.
Both Russell and his rookie team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli are out of contract at the end of the season, with Mercedes yet to make a final decision on either driver as the prospect of signing Verstappen continues to loom.
Heading into the British Grand Prix, more reports emerged from Italian media outlets that ‘concrete negotiations’ had begun between the reiging World Champion and Mercedes.
Russell has continually stated that he is not worried about losing his seat to Verstappen, instead welcoming the idea of partnering with him in F1.
Asked for his view on his contract situation and the swirling rumours, he made his position crystal clear.
“I mean, every team has two seats available and it’s normal that every team is considering what the future holds and I don’t take that personally because I made it clear from the beginning I’m happy to be team-mates with anybody.
“So, of course, there’s lots of conversations, lots of rumours and all of these are being pointed towards me, but from my side, that isn’t really going to be the case.
“I want to continue with Mercedes into the future. The fact is, Toto has never let me down. He’s always given me his word, but he’s also got to do what’s right for his team, which includes me.
“But it also includes the thousands of people who work for Mercedes.
“For me, it’s nothing to worry about because I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere, and whoever my team-mate will be, it doesn’t concern me either. So just focus on the driving.”
Russell unconcerned by contract timeline, trusts Mercedes process
The 27-year-old was asked whether the ongoing contract ordeal had made him question the team’s loyalty.
In response, Russell reaffirmed his confidence in both the team’s commitment and his own performance.
“I mean, there’s a lot of conversations behind the scenes that are not public and I know where their loyalty lies and it doesn’t need to be public, it doesn’t need to be broadcasted to everybody,” he continued.
“We’ve obviously spoken a little bit more over the last week because there are numerous news articles and whatnot out there, but in all honesty, it doesn’t really change anything on my side.
“As I’ve said before, I feel I’m performing better than ever, and it’s as simple as that really.”
He also confirmed that he had been in talks with no rival teams, as he was then asked whether there was a deadline in place to resolve his contract situation.
“I mean, there is not really any deadline in place to be honest,” he explained. “Obviously, naturally, trying to have stuff done before the summer break.
“From my side, Mercedes manages 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 are 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 and I expect probably in the next couple of weeks something to happen, but yeah, we’ll be waiting.”
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