Yesterday at 08:20
Former F1 driver Johnny Herbert believes George Russell's recent
run of performances has placed him in the strongest position to
negotiate a new deal with Mercedes. Russell does not yet have a
contract in place for the 2026 F1 campaign, however it is widely
expected he will be retained by Mercedes. RacingNews365 understands
the Briton has rejected several offers from the Brackley-based
squad as he pushes for better personal terms. Last time out in
Singapore, Russell produced an impressive performance to take pole
position on Saturday before dominating en route to his fifth career
win on Sunday. While Herbert asserted Russell was deserving of an
extension before Singapore, he highlighted the performance may have
tipped the scales in his favour. "He had achieved enough before
Singapore," Herbert told BettingLounge . "Now it should be a slam
dunk for Mercedes, Toto and George who once again showed that
special ability that he does have. "It's not as if he consistently
has the best car. But when it is in that window, George delivers.
"That shows a fantastic strength that I think he will be able to
take anywhere in the F1 paddock if he doesn't get a deal that he
wants from Mercedes." Russell is believed to be seeking long-term
security at Mercedes, a team that is known to hold interest in
bringing Max Verstappen across from Red Bull. However, Herbert has
called on Mercedes to back Russell for the years to come, insisting
it would be "foolish" not to tie him to such a deal. "Whatever team
he goes to, he's got this inner confidence," he said. "Some people
don't like it on the outside because he's overly confident. I think
people see it as arrogance. "But it's not. It's just his way of
expressing himself. Max does it differently. Max is very flippant
with some of the comments when he's asked a question by the media
sometimes. That's his way of dealing with it. But he does the job.
"He doesn't muck up races, He's under pressure in the F1 pressure
cooker and he delivers. So, it would be foolish if Mercedes didn't
give him his new long term deal. He deserves it. "And they haven't
got another choice, put it that way."
