George Russell Poised to Sign £30 Million Annual Deal with Mercedes as F1 Rival Verstappen Stays with Red Bull

GEORGE RUSSELL is nearing a new contract worth £30million a year with Mercedes, while Max Verstappen is likely to remain with Red Bull for another season.

The British driver has been in negotiations with Mercedes for several weeks, with only a few minor details to finalize.

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Toto Wolff’s team is aiming to finalize the contract after this weekend’s race in Hungary, just before the summer break.

However, the process may extend as Russell’s management evaluates the details of the new contract.

While Mercedes had been considering Verstappen’s status, the Dutch driver is expected to continue with Red Bull until 2026.

Following the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday, Verstappen will not be able to activate a release clause that depended on him being outside the top three before the summer break.

The four-time champion or Mercedes could contemplate buying out his contract, which runs until 2028, but this option is currently not on Verstappen’s radar.

Verstappen is third in the championship standings, 28 points ahead of George Russell, who is fourth after his sprint race victory at Spa and a fourth-place finish in the Grand Prix.

The Dutch driver and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton are the highest earners in Formula 1, each bringing in around £60m annually.

Meanwhile, Russell’s new deal will align his pay with that of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

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Mercedes faced a disappointing outing in Spa, finishing with Russell in fifth and Kimi Anontelli in sixteenth.

Discontented, Russell criticized the team’s performance and indicated that crucial discussions would take place this week to tackle the team’s issues.

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He remarked: “We need to thoroughly understand what’s going wrong and why we’ve taken a step back, as the conditions in Spa were ideal for us and our vehicle.

“This has marked our least impressive performance of the season, so we are preparing for a major discussion this week to diagnose the situation.

“As a team, it’s essential for us to unite. It may just require reverting some of our previous adjustments. But in F1, things are rarely that simple.

“The car isn’t providing the same driving comfort it used to. We’re experiencing a lack of rear stability.

“Kimi and I are collectively making more mistakes as the car has become increasingly difficult to handle. It’s strange how we’ve regressed so dramatically.”

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