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George Russell is only guaranteed a Mercedes seat for the 2027 season if he meets a performance clause in his contract.
In their announcement last autumn, Mercedes only confirmed that Russell and Kimi Antonelli would race for them in 2026.
Speaking during the April break, Russell said he had no reason to be ‘concerned’ about the clause, but he has struggled since the season resumed.
Lewis Hamilton is up to second in the drivers’ standings after the Monaco GP! Where will George Russell finish this year?
Photo by Mark Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
George Russell’s poor form at Mercedes may see performance clause triggered
Russell was legitimately unlucky in Canada, retiring from the lead of the Grand Prix after taking pole position and winning the Sprint. But either side of that race, he delivered two of his weakest Mercedes weekends in Miami and Monaco.
He finished 43 seconds behind his race-winning teammate in Florida, having been outpaced by four-tenths in qualifying. Russell called Miami one of his bogey tracks, but that doesn’t explain why Antonelli was 0.394s quicker over a shorter lap in Monaco.
Still, after retirements for Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, Russell may have finished on the podium without a drive-through for failing to correctly serve a pit-lane speeding penalty. He was ultimately classified 12th.
The end result is that Russell has scored 25 points in three weekends, two of them featuring Sprints, while Antonelli has collected 59 in the same period. The gap between the two drivers has grown to 68 points.
Does the chaos of the Monaco Grand Prix earn it a 10/10?
Photo by Joe Portlock/Getty Images
Russell has fallen to third behind Hamilton and is pessimistic about his title chances. He knows it’s very unlikely he will catch Antonelli from here, and that could land him in contractual trouble.
Last year, De Limburger reported that Toto Wolff wanted to insert a clause into Russell’s deal requiring him to finish above Antonelli in the standings, otherwise his contract would be ‘void’.
Russell has confirmed that the clause relates to his position in the championship, but hasn’t gone into any more detail. If the report from the Dutch press proved to be accurate, he may well be in breach.
Given that Russell scored more than double the points of Antonelli last year (309 vs 150), he would have been extremely confident of clearing that bar, but the Italian’s leap this season has caught almost everyone by surprise.
With Verstappen’s Red Bull future uncertain – the Dutchman could activate an exit clause of his own volition unless he surges into the top two of the championship – Russell might have to fear for his seat before long.
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