Mercedes 'will offer' George Russell new contract

Mercedes star George Russell is believed to be on the brink of signing a new contract with Toto Wolff's F1 outfit.

The British driver has been the standout star of the Silver Arrows so far in 2025 as rookie team-mate Kimi Antonelli appears to have hit a bump in the road of his maiden F1 campaign.

After stunning the paddock by becoming the youngest-ever pole-sitter of all race formats in F1 history earlier this season, Antonelli admitted struggling with the W16 in recent grands prix.

Russell has undoubtedly outperformed the Italian youngster in the lead up to F1's summer shutdown, yet neither star has been issued a new contract with Mercedes for 2026 and beyond.

But former F1 driver and ex-FIA steward Johnny Herbert believes a new contract is heading Russell's way any day now.

Speaking to Grosvenor Casino, Herbert said: "I'm sure Mercedes will give George a contract. There can be no way that they're not going to, especially now, Max is staying at Red Bull.

"It should have been done before, because the guy that you could rely on was George.

"And the man you are going to rely on for the second part of the season is George and the man you're going to have to rely on next year is George."

F1 summer break set to hand Russell Mercedes future answer

In the run up to the 2025 summer break, Mercedes team principal Wolff made no secret that he felt it was his duty to keep tabs on whether reigning champion Max Verstappen could be on the market for 2026.

As rumours swirled over Verstappen's talks to join Mercedes, questions were rightfully raised over who the Dutchman would replace should Wolff be successful in signing him.

Russell may be the driver bringing in the points this season but Antonelli is Wolff's long-term project, a starlet who has been on the Silver Arrows' radar since he was a young child in karting.

But now Verstappen is locked in with Red Bull until at least the end of next season, Wolff should have wasted no time securing both Russell and Antonelli.

The 51-year-old has maintained that all will become clear over the future of his F1 driver line-up during August's summer break, but it's clear Russell has nothing to worry about for now.

Wolff himself even gave the 27-year-old a boost in confidence prior to the summer break despite the absence of an official contract announcement, saying: "We couldn’t wish for a better number one driver," practically confirming that Russell's place at Mercedes is safe.

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