One in all Method 1’s top-performing drivers thus far this yr is and not using a contract for subsequent season.
George Russell hasn’t been out of the highest 5 all yr and has a trio of podium finishes. With 73 factors he lies 26 off the lead, and if Mercedes can wring a couple of tenths of a second from their W16 he might but turn into a severe participant within the combat for the championship.
Rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli is doing a positive job within the different Mercedes seat. However Russell is setting the usual and scoring the majority of the factors so isn’t it time Mercedes firmed up his deal for subsequent season?
There may be one apparent cause why staff principal Toto Wolff could also be reluctant to take action: Max Verstappen. Pink Bull have misplaced their efficiency edge over the past 12 months and have launched into an formidable plan to construct their very own energy unit for the primary time when F1’s new laws come into drive subsequent yr.
Pink Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has claimed Verstappen might go away the staff earlier than his present deal expires if sure efficiency targets aren’t met. Ought to Mercedes make sure the door stays ajar for the four-times champion – or make a present of religion within the driver whose profession they began backing eight years in the past?
For
Verstappen is unlikely to go away Pink Bull and if he does Mercedes is unlikely to be his vacation spot.
The four-times world champion understands the significance of consistency inside an organisation and the issue relocating would possibly contain – as exemplified by Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari. He is aware of his championship success is the overwhelming precedence at Pink Bull.
If he does look elsewhere, Aston Martin are much better positioned than Mercedes to safe his companies. There Verstappen could be reuniting with Adrian Newey, extensively considered F1’s greatest designer, and Honda, with whom he has a superb relationship.
Russell has carried out beautifully thus far this yr and given Mercedes no cause to switch him. With the prospects of hiring Verstappen so distant, it’s time to reward him with a confidence-boosting contract extension.
In opposition to
Russell is undoubtedly a top-drawer, race-winning driver with the potential to combat for world championships. However he has not but confirmed himself within the explicit depth of a world championship combat.
Verstappen is totally different: Not solely is he a confirmed champion, however a formidable competitor in contrast to every other in F1. Not merely a particularly quick driver and ruthless wheel-to-wheel racer, however completely single-minded in his willpower to win.
Some would possibly query whether or not that strategy would work so properly exterior a staff which he has cultivated round himself for almost a decade. However you may’t fault Mercedes for desirous to deliver him inside the fold, nevertheless distant their probabilities might seem.
Maybe this would be the yr Russell has the prospect to show himself a real title contender. Within the meantime, Mercedes’ pursuit of Verstappen makes good sense.
I say
That stated, Aston Martin appears a likelier final vacation spot for him, if not as early as subsequent yr then doubtlessly 2027, after Alonso has seen out the final yr of his contract and Verstappen has had the chance to evaluate Pink Bull’s first energy unit.
It’s true that the longer Mercedes wait to agency up a cope with Russell, the longer it will seem like it lacks religion in him. However as the motive force himself is unlikely to have any higher affords on the desk, from Mercedes’ standpoint, it doesn’t must rush issues.
Mercedes ought to re-sign Russell and I believe they finally will, however they might desire hypothesis to stay centred on Verstappen for now.
You say
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