How Verstappen has suddenly put Russell in the driver's seat

07:01, 29 Aug

Updated: 07:54, 29 Aug

byTim Kraaij

Now that Max Verstappen's future lies with Red Bull Racing, we await Mercedes' driver announcement for the 2026 season. However, this has suddenly become less urgent for George Russell.

In the final weeks before the summer break, George Russell seemed to be increasing the pressure internally with statements in an interview. Russell suggested that he had to wait for Mercedes because Toto Wolff was still having conversations with Max Verstappen. This only increased speculation about his future.

However, after the dismissal of Christian Horner, clarity soon emerged about Max Verstappen's future. He will not be moving to Mercedes in 2026 and will remain loyal to Red Bull for now. The person who benefits the most from this is George Russell.

No more pressure on Russell after Verstappen's announcement

In Zandvoort it was clearly visible that the pressure was off Russell's shoulders. When Verstappen announced in Hungary that he would stay with Red Bull, Mercedes and Russell could have almost immediately announced the deal. However, a summer break went by and there is no deal yet.

A deliberate choice, as it turned out during the press moment with George Russell in Zandvoort. Where Toto Wolff, according to George, would have liked to have clinched the deal during the summer break, it was now exactly Russell who put on the brakes. He wanted to enjoy a good holiday before sitting down at the table again.

It shows the changed situation. Up until recent times, Russell was on hold, hoping that Mercedes would not choose Verstappen. Now Russell is the best option for Mercedes and the team wants to seal a deal, but is actually Russell who now holds the cards.

Russell thinks about 'the bigger picture'

What stood out most about the press moment with Russell was the fact that he wanted to think about 'the bigger picture'. Russell did not delve into details, but he confirmed later on that the length of the contract was not a factor. Russell is open to both a short and a long term deal.

It's more about the side activities besides racing. The contract is not only about the seat at Mercedes, but everything that comes with it, including sponsorship days and media obligations. Russell is 28 years old and wants to focus primarily on performances. Everything should be in service of this for his new deal. That's why Russell is waiting with signing too quickly.

There is no deadline yet, according to the Mercedes driver: “We're getting closer to being on the same page with a few things and hopefully in the coming, realistically, it's probably going to be, we're talking maybe a number of weeks before anything really happens, but there's no major rush and I don't want to really put a timeline on it. When it will happen, it will happen. If that's next week, a month, two months, three months, it will be what it will be."