It’s set to be a weekend full of anticipated announcements in Austin, and Mercedes was the first to get the ball rolling on Wednesday when it confirmed George Russell and Kimi Antonelli as drivers for 2026.
Toto Wolff had insisted a few months ago that this would be the duo, and that there might not even be an announcement once pen was put to paper. But as the contracts remained unsigned, it became one of the more bizarre loose ends as Formula 1 entered the final seven weeks of the season with one of its top performers still without a deal.
I would be talking to Russell in Azerbaijan and the central issue at that stage would certainly be the lack of a contract. An illness that struck the 27-year-old postponed those plans until Thursday at the Circuit of the Americas, and in many ways the timing couldn’t have been better after a second-place finish in Baku and a win in Singapore preceded the contract announcement.
The deal had been considered a formality long before then, but that was partly due to the fact that Russell is managed by Mercedes and any move elsewhere would have to be sanctioned by his current employers. Yet he insists it was not an ax hung over him.
“It’s always going to be mutually beneficial, right?” Russell tells RACER. “For a team to get the most out of its driver, the driver needs to be happy and feel valued, respected, etc. And that’s the same whether you’re a junior driver, managed by the team or not at all.
“That’s why I’m happy, because I think Toto has been extremely fair with his proposal and offer and with what we agreed. I’m very happy.”
“He could have been significantly tougher if he wanted to – and of course he could have been more generous if he wanted to – but I’m very happy with where we got to.”
Russell admits he played a part in why it took so long for the deal to finally close, noting that many observers don’t realize how different each year looks for a driver when it comes to off-track workload. But that does not alter the fact that Mercedes retained true power in the negotiations.
“There’s a lot of stuff off the track that I wanted to clean up,” he says. “And this is not because I want to spend more time on the beach and chill. This is because I want to be an even better driver and take myself to the next level.
“The seasons are getting longer and there are more obligations. The launch of F1 at the beginning of this year, the premiere in New Yorks, Prime Minister of Monacoes, Netflix obligations, all things that are actually separate from all sponsorship obligations…
“We’ll go next year we will have to do more days on the simulator. When you add the two additional tests together, there are approximately twelve days left of your schedule. So before you know it, you’re thinking, ‘How do I get time to train, be in good shape, recover from jet lag and do X, Y, Z?’
“So that was a big factor for me, whether it’s money or whatever it may be, because I want to win. I want to win more than making the most money on the grid of all the drivers. Winning is what I’ve been working towards my life and that’s what I get my kicks from. So that’s been the biggest part of it.”
Russell said his desire to win overrode all other considerations when negotiating his new deal, and he remains confident Mercedes will give him a car in 2026 that can do just that. Sam Bloxham/Getty Images
“But since the summer break, of course, everything was fixed. From my side, my drive was never in doubt. And as I have said publicly before, you understand: if the team can keep their options open, why wouldn’t they?”
“For their part, they had me and Kimi under control. Why put pen to paper six months earlier?” [deals expire] if you don’t have to?”
That Mercedes has only now confirmed its driver line-up for next year raises the question of whether the team has once again kept its options open for the future and whether the same scenario will play out in twelve months’ time.‘ time.
“No, no, no,” says Russell. “I don’t want to go into details about what this deal entails, but I am very relaxed about the whole situation.
“You can have the tightest contract in the world, but if you’re not performing or things aren’t right within a team, there are always ways to change that. So I sleep well at night knowing how well I’m performing, rather than knowing I’d have a two, three or four-year contract.”
“If I had a four-year contract but didn’t perform, I wouldn’t sleep well at night, on the contrary, if that makes sense.”
It’s hard to dispute Russell’s claim that he performed. Just 36 points behind Max Verstappen in a car that only looked truly capable of winning twice – in Canada and Singapore – he has shown solid consistency and led Mercedes alongside his new teammate.
The general consensus is that Russell would be a serious contender for the title if he has the right machinery, but the driver himself accepts that he cannot make demands based on hypotheses.
“Toto, he recognizes the level at which I perform,” he says. “But until you’re a world champion, you’re not a world champion, and that’s just the nature of our sport. It’s quite complex. It’s quite unique.
“I am very happy with the conditions given to me. Will I be the highest paid driver on the grid next year? No. I will be happier if I fight for a championship versus… I would give up everything to fight and become world champion.”
“For me it’s not about the money, or the fame, or whatever comes with that. For me it’s about winning. And if every seat was available and I could choose somewhere to race before 2026, I would choose to work at Mercedes.”
“I believe this is my best chance to win the world championship. And I’m sure there are some drivers. If they had the same chance to choose a certain team to race with, and if every seat was available and you didn’t take into account loyalty or anything, then I think a lot of drivers would choose Mercedes.”
“That’s the information we have today. Maybe we’re wrong in Melbourne, but I can’t predict the future. I made the decision based on what I know now, and I’m super happy.”
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