George Russell is in no doubt about his long-term future at Mercedes, saying he expects to hit the targets within his contract to remain at the team next year.
The 27-year-old extended his contract with Mercedes last year amid speculation he could be replaced by four-time champion Max Verstappen.
Russell said Mercedes’ strong start to the season means he will fulfil the performance clauses in his contract to activate a continuation in 2027 and confirmed the deal is for “numerous years”.
“You hit the metrics and you move on,” he said when asked if it was as simple as getting results to stay at Mercedes. “So I will be here next year with the team and that’s that.
“There’s not really much more to say. It’s a multi-year deal. It’s numerous years.
“And as we said last year, and often in a lot of these contracts, even if metrics aren’t hit, if things are happy then you continue. But as I said, metrics will very likely be hit.”
After the first three races of the 2026 season, Russell is currently second in the drivers’ standings, nine points behind teammate Kimi Antonelli.
Mercedes’ strong start under F1’s new regulations for 2026 has made Russell the favourite for this year’s title, and he said he is not feeling any extra pressure after falling behind teammate Antonelli early on.
“Not at all, to be honest, because it’s a hell of a long season and no championship’s ever been won after three races,” he said. “So for me, it’s always important to maximise the results.
“I’m not leading the championship, but I’ve got to be honest, when I look at the circumstance of the last two races, I actually feel like I’ve maximised my results. And that’s all I can do.
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“If things had gone slightly differently in Suzuka, I think I could have won that race. If there was no safety car at all, I think I’d have finished second in that race behind [Oscar] Piastri. And in China, I obviously had the qualifying issue, and I think otherwise I potentially could have been on pole there. So when I look at things rationally, I think I’ve maximised my results this year.
“And when I have a clean weekend, as I have in Melbourne, I know I’ve got the capability of being on pole and winning the race. So obviously, I was frustrated coming away from China and Japan, but that’s always going to happen at some point in the season.
“And I’m actually quite thankful that I still managed to get some decent points on the board.”
