George Russell has signed a multi-year contract extension with Mercedes, keeping him with the team into the 2026 season and beyond. The deal, announced on Thursday, makes the 27-year-old Briton the third-highest earner on the Formula One grid with a salary of around £30 million per year, behind only Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.
Russell, who has two wins this season in Canada and Singapore, bringing his career total to five, has thrived as Mercedes’s de facto number one driver following Hamilton’s departure. Despite a capricious car that has at times been only the fourth fastest, Russell has secured eight podiums, including a standout second-place finish in Azerbaijan while battling illness.
Mercedes F1 CEO Toto Wolff said: “Confirming our driver lineup was always just a matter of when, not if. We wanted to take our time, handle the negotiations properly and make sure everyone, on all sides, was happy.” The team also confirmed a new deal for 19-year-old Italian Kimi Antonelli, who will partner Russell from next season.
Russell’s new contract includes clauses limiting sponsor-related engagements to prioritise rest and recovery, a move similar to Hamilton’s approach in his later years with Mercedes. Russell, who is unusually managed by the team itself, has emphasised the importance of lifestyle choices in a sport of marginal gains.
With Mercedes tipped as early frontrunners for the 2026 season, when new engine and chassis regulations come into effect, Russell is poised for a championship charge. The team’s dominant 2014 engine era under Wolff’s leadership gives confidence that they can capitalise on the rule changes. Russell told The Independent in May that he is ready for a title challenge, and his performances this season back that assertion.
