Yesterday at 12:55
Former F1 driver Martin Brundle has highlighted George Russell has
returned to a position of advantage in his contract negotiations
with Mercedes. Russell is yet to pen a deal with the Brackley-based
squad for 2026, as is rookie team-mate Kimi Antonelli. Mercedes was
known to have interest in signing Max Verstappen, who was hesitant
for much of the year to confirm his plans for next year. However,
Verstappen has now declared he will remain at Red Bull next year.
Speaking recently to Sky F1 , Russell stated he would "pay to fight
for a world championship" as he seeks to put himself into
title-contending position. Brundle highlighted Russell deserves to
be compensated for his services, hinting his remark could come back
to bite him. "Performance is everything, there's no doubt about
it," Brundle told Sky F1 . "They all roughly know what each other
earns. George is not going to want to be underpaid - why should he
be? "He'll want some certainty. What he won't want to do is find
himself in this position again next year if Max Verstappen happens
to be on the market. "If I was managing George, I would have said,
'don't say you'll drive for nothing, or don't say you'll pay
because that's going to come back and hurt us somewhere'. I know
the point he was trying to make." However, with Verstappen now off
the market, Brundle sees Russell in a stronger position to
negotiate a deal that suits him. "But the cards have turned around
because suddenly George is far and away the best driver available
in the world of F1 who doesn't have a contract next year," he said.
"Suddenly he's like, 'I'm going to slow this down a little bit'.
That's how I'm reading it anyway."
