F1 News: George Russell makes surprising Mercedes admission as silly season ramps up

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Mercedes F1

George Russell makes surprising Mercedes admission as F1 silly season ramps up

George Russell is understood to be continuing at Mercedes in 2027

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Monday 29 June 2026 22:55

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Mercedes F1 driver George Russell has confirmed that he will be racing at Mercedes next year, but admitted that he has not talked to his boss Toto Wolff about it.

Russell is currently involved in a championship battle with team-mate Kimi Antonelli, sat 40 points behind the young Italian.

His victory last weekend in Austria brought the gap down, but it was just his second of the season, while Antonelli has five in the same car.

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It's this lack of form that has prompted rumours that the Brit may be replaced at Mercedes, particularly with Wolff known to be a key admirer of Red Bull's Max Verstappen, whose long-term future is also not assured.

On top of this, Russell's Mercedes contract which he signed last year only mentioned the 2026 season, leaving question marks about 2027 and beyond.

Russell's Mercedes contract situation

However, Russell now seems to have cleared up any ambiguity about his future, claiming he will '100 per cent' be racing for Mercedes in 2027.

"I’ll be racing here next year, 100 per cent," Russell told media after the race. "It hasn’t even been discussed [with Wolff]. We don’t need to discuss it. It’s not even a question mark.

"I don’t want to go into any more detail, but I will be here next year and that’s the fact of it."

Is the tide changing for Russell?

Following a point-less Monaco Grand Prix just two events ago, Russell fell to 68 points behind Antonelli, who had just won five grands prix in a row.

But Antonelli suffered the kind of bad luck that Russell had previously faced in Montreal at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix last time out, having to retire when he was running up in second.

Following that, this weekend saw him only able to finish down in third after a mistake in qualifying saw him qualify behind the two Ferrari drivers.

It means that the gap is now at 40 points, still a hefty chunk, but one that needs protecting by Antonelli over the coming races if he wants to avoid the pressure really ramping up after the summer break.

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F1 Mercedes George Russell Toto Wolff