Carlos Sainz warns George Russell over Mercedes treatment: 'It affects you'

Carlos Sainz has cautioned George Russell that he may not get the best out of himself with his Mercedes future currently under the gun. The Williams driver drew upon his experience at Ferrari last season, when he knew he was out of his seat at the end of the season before the campaign had begun, to explain how a less-than-ideal situation can affect a driver. Sainz lost his seat at the Italian team to Lewis Hamilton, having performed well alongside Charles Leclerc. It was the pull factor of the seven-time F1 drivers' champion, not the Scuderia wishing to push the Spaniard out the door, that cost him his seat. It would be a similar case for Russell, who is having a superb season for Mercedes, if Toto Wolff is able to bring Max Verstappen to the Brackley-based squad at the four-time grand prix winner's expense. When the British driver's plight was put to Sainz and he was asked if he had any advice to share, he reflected on how the surrounding "noise" could have an impact. "For sure, as a racing driver, it's not an ideal situation," the 30-year-old told TalkSport . "I think we all try and hide from the fact that it affects you, like we try and not be affected. "And I strongly believe that, like I did last year, you can still have a very strong season with all this noise going around your future and around your team, like it can be proved by what George is doing this year and what I did last year. "But at the same time, it's not ideal. It's noise for you. It's noise for the team. It's noise for your engineers, for your mechanics." 'It's not what any driver wants' The jeopardy for Mercedes lies in the fact that it risks unsettling Russell without the guarantee of securing Verstappen's signature. Whilst Sainz conceded it does not prevent a driver from having a strong season, a point he hung on his 2024 campaign and Russell's current formbook, he was keen to highlight that "100 percent trust" and "100 percent commitment between both parties" is far more conducive for success. "In an ideal situation, the way you go racing and the way you are successful, and the way you are getting the results, and in the way you are being world champion, is when all this is quiet and there's 100 percent trust between you and the team, and when there's 100 percent commitment between both parties," he explained. "So even though you can still do a very successful season and perform at a very high level, for sure, it is not the ideal situation, and it's not what any driver wants."