Mercedes have now changed their stance on George Russell’s new £30m-a-year contract

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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and George Russell have now resumed their talks, after the British driver asked to delay any contract negotiations in the summer break.

The 27-year-old is one of six current drivers actively fighting to remain on the F1 grid for the 2026 season. But Russell did not want to continue his negotiations with Mercedes about his new contract during the summer break, which concluded this week at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Mercedes are locked in talks with both of their drivers, as Wolff only handed rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli a one-year deal to replace Lewis Hamilton for the 2025 season. Yuki Tsunoda, Liam Lawson, Isack Hadjar and Franco Colapinto are also out of contract after the campaign.

Russell has stepped up superbly to lead the Silver Arrows following Hamilton’s defection to Ferrari this year. The Briton scored his fourth career Grand Prix victory from his sixth career pole position at June’s Canadian Grand Prix for the Brackley bunch’s sole triumph this term.

Mercedes are now in negotiations to give George Russell a new contract through 2027

Mercedes have even seen Russell score 172 of their 236 points to sit third in the F1 drivers’ championship ahead of the Dutch GP. Yet Wolff wanted to offer Russell a one-year contract extension to stay at Mercedes for the 2026 season to keep a door open for Max Verstappen.

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Wolff has missed out on a chance to sign the four-time reigning champion after Verstappen confirmed “I’m staying” at Red Bull for 2026, as he cannot activate the release clause in his contract. And Mercedes missing out on Verstappen has helped Russell’s hand in their talks.

According to Sky Sports, talks between Mercedes and Russell are now ‘advancing’ towards the King’s Lynn native agreeing to a new multi-year contract. The terms should see Russell stay in Brackley through at least the 2027 F1 season, tying him down for the medium-term.

Additionally, the Daily Mail now claims that Wolff is offering Russell a £30m a year contract to stay at Mercedes. Russell’s current Mercedes contract is worth £12m a year, which they agreed on in August 2023 after he won one of his first 35 Grands Prix for the Silver Arrows.

George Russell is happy with the ‘direction’ of his Mercedes contract talks

Russell will start his 83rd Grand Prix for Mercedes in this Sunday’s Dutch GP, which will also be the 143rd of his Formula 1 career following 60 starts for Williams from 2019 to 2021. He replaced Valtteri Bottas in Brackley back in 2022, and he has since taken all four of his wins.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Mercedes F1 CEO and team principal Toto Wolff

Yet, despite Russell winning the Canadian GP for Mercedes’ only victory of the 2025 season so far, Wolff’s interest in signing Verstappen delayed the Briton’s contract negotiations. The Silver Arrows’ academy product has also secured six of their seven podiums so far this year.

Russell believes his Mercedes contract talks are “moving in the right direction” now, though, after resuming his discussions with Wolff following the summer break. And it appears that it is also now likely to yield a longer-term deal, removing the speculation over Russell’s future.