Williams prepared to give Russell multi-year F1 contract he craves

Russell’s current deal with Williams expires at the end of the 2021 season and the Briton has been linked with a possible switch to Mercedes for 2022 following his impressive delays since making his F1 debut in 2019.

Ahead of last weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, another piece of the 2022 driver market puzzle was completed with the news that Lando Norris has committed to McLaren with a new multi-year contract.

Norris has joined Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in holding guarantees over their mid-to-long-term futures in F1, but as yet, Russell’s career path beyond the end of 2021 has not been decided.

Ahead of the weekend in Monaco, Russell stressed he is eager for his next F1 contract to be a multi-year deal regardless of where he ends up. 

“Definitely the position I’m in currently, being a free agent as such going into next year, is a good position to be in,” he explained. 

“I think stability and longevity is important. I think it’s so clear with people moving around recently how difficult it is to jump in and adapt to a new team.

“So I think wherever I find myself next year, I’d like it to be at least for a couple of years, because I think that’s so important to have that consistency in order to grow and progress.”

Russell’s hopes of landing a Mercedes seat for 2022 will come down to whether the German marquee opts to retain Valtteri Bottas, with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton indicating he plans to remain in the sport for at least another year.

Should Mercedes decide to offer Bottas an extension into next season and beyond, the most likely option for Russell would be to agree to a new deal with the Mercedes-powered Williams squad.

Asked if he would be willing to offer Russell a long-term deal to keep him at Williams, Capito replied: “Of course.

“He is doing a great job, he is a fantastic driver, we’ve created a really good relationship and I think he would fit really well with Williams for our future as well and I think if he believes in our future there might be a chance to keep him.

“I think that you know George is a Mercedes driver for many years so I don’t think they will let him go,” he added. “We will see. We’ve got time to talk about drivers. We are not in a need now to discuss that.”