George Russell reveals Mercedes-Max Verstappen conversations are ongoing as his contract extension gets delayed

In a major revelation to the media about his contract delay, George Russell has revealed that Mercedes is having conversations with Max Verstappen. There have been reports about the same in the past, and there have been suggestions that the Dutch driver and the German team have been in contact. At no point, though, has something been admitted by either party.

George Russell has been affiliated with Mercedes even before he joined F1. The driver was part of the academy as the team guided him through his junior career. He started his F1 career with Williams, where he spent three seasons. He was promoted to the German team in 2022 as he teamed up with Lewis Hamilton.

Since that time, the young Brit has been a key part of the team and has taken over as a leader this season after Lewis Hamilton left. The 2025 F1 season has been George Russell's best in terms of performance, and the driver has been commended by many for the level at which he's performing.

His contract, however, comes to an end this year, and it should ideally be a no-brainer to sign an extension with him. Unfortunately for him, Max Verstappen might also be able to get out of his Red Bull contract. Toto Wolff has been quite public with the affection he has for the Dutch driver and how he wants him to be a part of the team.

It does appear that in the background, Mercedes and Max Verstappen have had conversations, and that has led to a delay in George Russell's contract. When questioned about the status of his contract, the Brit told Sky Sports:

“From my side, I don’t think I have anything really to worry about. I think, as a team, it depends where you put your aspirations. We’re second best at the moment, maybe third best. We might be overperforming slightly to be second best. As Mercedes, they want to be back on top, and if you’re going to be back on top you need to make sure you’ve got the best drivers, the best engineers, the best pit crew, and that’s what Mercedes are chasing."

He added:

"So, it’s only normal that conversations with the likes of Verstappen are ongoing. But from my side, if I’m performing as I’m doing, what have I got to be concerned about? There are two seats in every Formula 1 team. Toto has made it clear to me that he thinks how I’m performing this year is as good as anybody. I think there’s only one driver that you can debate in terms of performance – these are his words, these are not my words – so that’s why I have no concern about the future."

George Russell claims he has zero reasons to be worried as Max Verstappen lurks

When questioned about his future and why there is a delay in signing a contract extension, the British driver admitted that it would help if there were pen on paper and things were official. George Russell did, however, reaffirm that the way he's been performing this season, there's no reason for him to be worried about his future. He said:

"No major updates yet. It’s not something that I’m pressing massively because, as I’ve always said, the performance is the priority, and I feel with the performance I’m showing at the moment – still in line with the performance I’ve shown over all these years – I’ve got zero reasons to be worried. But obviously, it does help if there was pen on paper. But let’s see.

If Max Verstappen does replace George Russell at Mercedes for 2026, it would be interesting to see where the Brit moves to and what happens with Red Bull as well.