George Russell expects Mercedes return despite Max Verstappen rumors

George Russell believes he'll remain with Mercedes in 2026, even as his boss Toto Wolff continued to leave open the possibility of pursuing Max Verstappen.

Russell claimed last week that his own contract negotiations are being held up by Mercedes' interest in Verstappen, the four-time defending Formula 1 champion for Red Bull.

In comments to Sky Sports, Wolff denied there being a delay in Russell's negotiation while declaring that it was his responsibility to weigh "what a four-time world champion is going to do in the future."

Russell met with reporters Thursday in his native England ahead of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit, where he said the chances are "exceptionally low" that he isn't driving for Mercedes next year.

"I've been focused on my side, I am loyal to Mercedes," Russell said. "So at the end of the day, everything will work itself out."

Russell is fourth in the driver championship race after following a victory at the Canadian Grand Prix with a fifth-place showing last week in Austria. The 27-year-old came up through Mercedes' junior program in 2017 and has driven for their F1 team full-time since 2022.

His contract is due to expire at season's end, and there has been speculation that Mercedes could replace him with Verstappen while keeping its other driver, highly-touted 18-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

"I mean, every team has two seats available, and it's normal that every team is considering what the future holds," Russell said. "... And I don't take that personally, because I made it clear from the beginning I'm happy to be teammates with anybody. Of course there's conversations and rumors, it's been pointed towards me, but from my side that isn't going to be the case.

"I want to continue with Mercedes into the future. The fact is Toto has never let me down, has always given me his word, and he's also got to do what's right for his team, which includes me and the thousands of people who work for Mercedes."

Toto Wolff's word, of late, has been concentrated on Verstappen and defending his interest in the Dutch superstar, saying it's "only normal" to have conversations with drivers of his caliber.

"You make it sound like that we have been asking (Verstappen), ‘When do you want to join and what are the terms?' That's not how it is and how it works," Wolff told a reporter Wednesday.

"I want to just have the conversations behind closed doors, not town halls. And we have two drivers that have been in our program since a long time, drivers that I'm perfectly happy to have, drivers that will do great in the future of the team. So it's a bit different, the situation."