George Russell appears set to secure a lucrative new deal with Mercedes – just a few months after speculation suggested he might be on his way out. The 27-year-old has kicked off the 2025 F1 campaign in impressive fashion, landing three podiums in the opening four rounds.
He currently holds fourth place in the drivers’ standings, trailing leader Lando Norris by only 14 points. Russell’s solid performances seem to have impressed Mercedes chief Toto Wolff, who is believed to be ready to offer the Brit a two-year contract extension, including an optional third year.
The proposed deal is reportedly valued at around £22m ($30million) annually. His present contract – worth approximately £11m ($15m) per year – runs out at the end of the season. Previously, speculation had swirled around the possibility of Max Verstappen stepping in as his successor, but that now seems unlikely.
Talk also circulated about Verstappen potentially pairing with Russell at the Silver Arrows, but it now seems Wolff is content with his current driver duo. He reportedly sees Russell as team leader and considers him among the “top two or three” in Formula 1.
As a result, the Austrian boss is ready to reward Russell with a contract that reflects his standing, according to Autosport. This would represent a dramatic shift, especially given that just months ago, former world champion Nico Rosberg and ex-Haas team boss Guenther Steiner were openly sceptical about Russell’s future at Mercedes.
Back in September, Rosberg claimed Russell’s seat was “not safe at all”. Steiner echoed the sentiment, saying Russell needed to “prove” he could lead the team following Hamilton’s departure.
“The car is what it is. It’s not the best car, it’s the fourth best car at the moment on a good day,” Steiner said on the Red Flag podcast. “I think Lewis knowing that he’s leaving anyway, it’s easier to complain. George has got all the interest to do to whatever is there to show that he’s the leader of the team for the future.
“He has to prove that, because he knows that because he knows that when his Mercedes contract is up, his seat is not 100 per-cent safe so he just tries to do his best, puts everything into it.”
Russell impressed with a runner-up finish in Bahrain this past Sunday, overcoming mechanical difficulties and late-race pressure from Norris. He surged past Charles Leclerc at the start, and kept up with eventual race winner Oscar Piastri, all while holding Norris at bay.
His race became trickier due to a number of technical setbacks. His car suffered sporadic electronic glitches, beginning with a data blackout on his dashboard. Things worsened from lap 46 when a brake-by-wire failure caused inconsistent brake force, making it harder to manage the car and increasing the likelihood of errors.
The Brit revealed post-race that the braking pedal’s resistance varied unpredictably, forcing him to modify his technique on nearly every lap to avoid locking up.
After the race, Russell was investigated for activating his DRS in restricted zones but was ultimately cleared. That ruling was a big relief for Mercedes, who are aiming to close the gap on McLaren in the Constructors’ standings.
Piastri and Norris have been red-hot to start the year, combining for three victories and only one non-podium result in the first four races. Norris is narrowly ahead of his team-mate by three points in the championship, with defending titleholder Verstappen just behind in third.
Russell is currently six points adrift of Verstappen, with Leclerc in fifth place, just ahead of Russell’s Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli and former team-mate Lewis Hamilton. Next up is the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – where Piastri won last year and Russell earned an impressive second place.
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