Although still without a Mercedes contract, Russell says he's feeling no pressure

George Russell says he feels no pressure to get a new contract agreed at Mercedes, as he estimates it will be “a number of weeks before anything really happens.”

Mercedes has yet to confirm Russell and Kimi Antonelli will remain in their seats for 2026, although both are widely expected to do so. There was uncertainty during exploratory talks with Max Verstappen earlier this year, and despite that being reduced after the Dutchman committed to staying with Red Bull, Russell says an agreement has still not been fully reached.

“Naturally, we wanted to take the summer off to relax and reset, but it’s positively moving in the right direction,” Russell said. “But I think as there is no time pressure from the team's side and no time pressure from our side, we're sort of just ensuring it's done properly.

“Of course, you are juggling priorities. It's not like the world stops to sort a contract. We've got to worry about race weekends, we’re focusing on future development, already looking ahead to next year, sponsorship days… So things sometimes do take longer than you would anticipate, but as I said, positively going in the right direction.

“Definitely the summer break was a very good time for me to think about my whole situation, what I want for my future, not just on track but everything that happens off track – there’s a lot more to our role than just driving the cars on a Sunday afternoon. Those conversations have really been picked up this week, not really through the break, because that was more my decision.

“I wanted to take the time off. Toto [Wolff, team principal] and the team were very willing to work through the summer break to come to a resolution, but I wanted just to take that time because those two weeks are pretty precious for all of us. And it's, as I said, moving in a positive direction.

“So I think we're getting closer to being on the same page with a few things and hopefully in the coming… realistically, we're talking maybe a number of weeks before anything really happens. But there's no major rush and I don't want to really put a timeline on it. When it will happen, it will happen. If that's next week, a month, two months, three months, it will be what it will be.”

Russell says there are not major items that are still up for negotiation, with the length of deal not one of the obstacles still to be overcome.

“No, not at all, to be honest. I think there's pros and cons to having short-term, long-term," he said. "I think for me this season has proved more than ever, ultimately it always comes down to performance. The number that is stated in the contract is ultimately just a number. But obviously I'm thinking about what I want.

“The truth is I want to win with Mercedes, I want to win a world championship and that is my number one goal. I hope that to be here with the team, but of course I'm 28 next year – I'm still feeling pretty young, but at some point I need to make sure everything is right and we're all heading in the right direction. So, as I said, I hope that can be here with Mercedes.”