Russell sure new deal puts him on pole for 2026 title shot
- Last updated: October 18, 2025 | 09:30
George Russell is convinced his new Mercedes deal provides the best chance of winning a Formula One title when the sport enters a new engine era next year.
The Briton already has a winning car this season, with two victories, but Mercedes are widely expected to have the best power unit next year and as former champions know all about title campaigns.
“I’m really happy to be continuing,” the Briton told reporters at the US Grand Prix on Thursday, a day after his contract extension was announced.
“The truth is, if every single seat was available for next year and I could choose any single team to race for, I believe Mercedes is my best chance of winning the championship next year.
“For me it’s more about winning than it is about money or sponsor days,” he said, referring to a contract whose details have not been disclosed.
“I want to win and this is what I’m fighting for.”
Mercedes have confirmed Russell and Italian teenage teammate Kimi Antonelli for 2026 but the Briton said his deal was multi-year.
That is likely to feature the standard get-outs and options on either side.
Asked about ‘wriggle room’, Russell conceded it would be very disappointing not to be winning but that was not something he or the team were thinking about.
The contract has taken time and Mercedes did not hide their interest in Red Bull’s four-time world champion Max Verstappen, who could become available for 2027 if performance targets are not met by his team.
Russell said he would be happy to stay with Mercedes indefinitely and was not troubled by any possible future move for Verstappen.
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton said rumours linking former Red Bull boss Christian Horner with Ferrari were ‘distracting’ for the Formula One team and he did not know where they came from.
Ferrari have yet to win in 18 rounds of the 24 race season and despite team principal Fred Vasseur being handed a contract extension in July, the talk about the Frenchman’s future has failed to die down.
The latest speculation, in Italy and England, suggested Ferrari had held exploratory talks with Horner -- one of the sport’s most successful bosses of all time but sacked abruptly in July.
Horner and Ferrari have not commented, although Aston Martin boss Andy Cowell said at this month’s Singapore Grand Prix that Horner had been in touch with team owners across the paddock.
“I don’t know where the rumours have come from, so I can’t really shed much light on that. It’s a little distracting for us as a team,” Hamilton said on Thursday.
“The team have made it clear where they stand in terms of re-signing Fred. Fred, I, and the whole team are working really hard on the future. These things aren’t helpful,” added the seven-times world champion.
“Everyone back in the factory is working incredibly hard, focused, and these sorts of rumours can sometimes be distracting.”
Vasseur was instrumental in signing Hamilton, 40, from Mercedes but the sport’s most successful driver has yet to stand on the podium in Ferrari red since he joined in January.
Agencies