George Russell relaxed on new Mercedes F1 deal: “There’s no rush”

George Russell has insisted “there’s no rush” to sign a new Mercedes F1 deal even though his current contract expires at the end of 2025.

Russell is out of contract at the end of the season, and a new Mercedes deal has yet to be agreed upon.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has been adamant about keeping Russell alongside Kimi Antonelli for next year.

However, it’s still a precarious position for the British driver.

Wolff and Mercedes have held long-term interest in Max Verstappen, who is under Red Bull contract until the end of 2028.

Mercedes were interested in signing Verstappen as their replacement for Lewis Hamilton.

Red Bull’s decline in form could tempt Verstappen to switch to Mercedes.

Another factor is that Mercedes are likely to start next year, when the new engine rules are introduced, with a very competitive power unit.

In the FIA press conference ahead of this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, Russell said there were “no concerns” about having no new deal yet.

“From my side there’s no stress whatsoever regarding a contract,” Russell explained.

“Ultimately, contracts are in place in Formula 1. Things change very quickly. I believe in myself. You have to perform. It’s pretty much as simple as that.

“When it comes down to contract discussions I think with us in the past with Toto it’s taken no more than 24 hours to have the conversation then it goes to the lawyers and we get something in place.

“There is no rush from my side. There’s no concerns. There’s no pressure. I am enjoying where I am at this sport right now and I am enjoying my performance. I am just enjoying going racing so that’s the number one priority right now.”

Mercedes pace in 2025 “quite refreshing”

Russell has enjoyed a strong start to 2025, finishing on the podium in the opening two races.

He sits third in the F1 drivers’ championship standings, nine points behind McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Despite a strong start, Russell is remaining “realistic”.

“The first two races have been great - two podiums - and we couldn’t have hoped for much more,” Russell added. “We have to be realistic. We’re only two races into a long season.

“I don’t think probably Ferrari and maybe Red Bull have maximised their potential as yet. We don’t want to get carried away that this is possible week in week out but we definitely know that if we do the best job to our own abilities we will be there in the mix.

“We know in qualifying we’ve always been strong but I think it was quite refreshing in China to see our race pace is also pretty decent and we were the second-fastest team in China.

“There was a lot of positives to take away. We go to Japan which was probably one of our worst races last year so it will quite an interesting test to see if we can improve the car compared to this time 12 months ago.”