Odds of leaving Mercedes 'exceptionally low' says Russell, but Verstappen talks continue
How rough is F1? George is having his strongest ever season but could still be given the boot Skip 1 photos in the image carousel and continue reading
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Clearly things wouldn't have got this far if Max wasn't open to exiting Red Bull, but it isn't clear if the performance clauses in his contract – that would allow him to break free of a deal that's meant to run until the end of 2028 – will be activated.
Russell isn't worried though. 'I feel I'm performing better than ever,' he said in the build up to this weekend's British Grand Prix at Silverstone. 'And it's as simple as that really. Performance speaks for everything. You might like
'The fact is, Toto [Wolff, team boss] has never let me down. He's always given me his word, but he's also got to do what's right for his team. Which includes me, but it also includes the thousands of people who work for Mercedes. For me, it's nothing to worry about because I don't think I'll be going anywhere.'
Defiant, right? Of course, Mercedes could decide to sacrifice 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli and run Russell and Verstappen as teammates. But the duo have some major beef, which got personal last year and wasn't exactly soothed when Max drove into the side of George in Spain last month.
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And having been scarred for life by having Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in the same garage, you'd have to assume Toto Wolff would, er, rather not do that again.
Still, Russell's happy to share with anyone, apparently. 'Every team has two seats available, and it's normal that every team is considering what the future holds,' he explains. 'And I don't take that personally because I made it clear from the beginning: I'm happy to be teammates with anybody.'
He's so confident that he's not talking to other teams, he says, and has no deadline for when he wants his contract to be sorted. And if it does come to finding a new employer, he's relaxed about that too.
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'Any teams who did reach out in the past, I said, 'Look, I am loyal to Mercedes. That's where my future lies.' But there hasn't been a lack of interest, let's say.
'I am loyal to Mercedes. At the end of the day, everything will work itself out. And the likelihood I'm not at Mercedes next year, I think is exceptionally low.'
Still though… what are the odds of him lining up for Red Bull next season?
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