George Russell had fun with a Formula 1 reporter as he faced further questions about his Mercedes future. In recent days, rumours have suggested the Brit could be closing in on a contract extension with his current deal set to expire at the end of the year.
Previously, Mercedes had been expected not to rush into negotiations. And even though team principal Toto Wolff has said publicly that he does not want to chase Max Verstappen, the fact the Dutchman could become available this summer through Red Bull contract clauses may pique the Silver Arrows’ interest.
But Russell has enjoyed a tremendous start to the season, including three podium finishes from the first four Grands Prix. That record puts him fourth in the drivers’ standings, just six points behind Verstappen in third and only 14 off championship leader Lando Norris.
And the Brit is certainly relaxed about his future. That much was evident as he had fun with reporters while being questioned about the current status of contract talks with Mercedes.
“I’ll be racing for Mercedes this weekend, and next weekend as well,” he joked with a smile. “Silverstone, I’ll be there… What I mean is from my side there is literally no stress, no worries whatsoever. When it comes to contracts, everybody gets so excited about it and the reality is: Drivers have contracts and, if they don’t perform, they get booted out.
“For drivers, performance is our currency – that’s what we’ve got. And if we perform, everything is good. I’m just excited to go racing this weekend and focus on performance so that the future sorts itself out.”
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Pushed on whether the speculation about a new deal being struck soon are true, Russell replied: “Rumours are never that truthful, are they? I’m pleased with how I’m performing and I’m enjoying this season with the team. The performance is our strongest currency so that’s what I’m focused on.
“When you said rumours, I didn’t really listen so much. A few of them are reasonably close I guess, but at the end of the day we’ve never discussed a contract prior to May or June in a season.
“I’d say the more abnormal point is how many of these drivers have long-term deals – but they’ve all got exit clauses, performance clauses, so a driver who’s on a three-year contract, it doesn’t mean anything if they’ve got an exit clause or the team does.
“It doesn’t really mean a lot and if you want a contract but the team wants you gone, the team finds a way to get you gone. That’s how this sport works and is how it should work, because we’re 20 of the best in the world and it’s ruthless – there’s no time to mess around, all you can do is focus on driving fast.”
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