George Russell: Mercedes driver’s new contract and what it means for F1 driver market, Max Verstappen’s future | F1 News

The wait for Mercedes to officially confirm George Russell and Kimi Antonelli as their drivers for the 2026 season is finally over.

The move has appeared inevitable and therefore been expected for several months, although the news has still already provoked plenty of debate and intrigue over what was said – and not said – by the team in their official announcement.

So what might it all mean heading into the future of the driver market as F1’s new rules era looms large into view? We look at some of the key questions around the deal…

What did Mercedes announce?

Mercedes finally formally confirmed on Wednesday, on the eve of the United States Grand Prix weekend in Austin, that Russell and Antonelli would remain in tandem for a second successive season into 2026.

It will be Russell’s fifth season driving for the Silver Arrows and Antonelli’s second.

No contract duration for either driver was specified, with only the pairing’s continuation for next season announced.

So what are the length of the deals?

It is understood Russell has actually agreed a multi-year deal.

Although the exact length and detail of that term is not known, ‘multi-year’ would include the 2026 and 2027 seasons at least if the agreement is fixed.

As for Antonelli, Mercedes have never publicly detailed the 19-year-old’s contractual status.

The Italian rookie was simply confirmed as the Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton’s replacement for 2025 in September last year and, 13 months on, has now been confirmed again for 2026.

Given Antonelli is in the early stages of his F1 career having been on Mercedes’ books since the age of 12, and they continue to view him as a star of the future despite the turbulence of his rookie season, it would be surprising if the Italian’s overarching deal wasn’t longer-term with accompanying options around the F1 seat.

He, like fellow Mercedes young driver programme graduate Russell, is also managed by the Silver Arrows.

What does it mean for F1’s driver market?

In the short term, it means there are now officially only five seats left open on 2026’s expanded 22-car grid.

That’s the one next to Max Verstappen at Red Bull – currently occupied by Yuki Tsunoda but one which Isack Hadjar appears favourite to take – the two at junior team Racing Bulls and the second seat at Alpine alongside Pierre Gasly.

For the longer term, it means speculation about the top end of the 2027 driver market remains on the back burner for now, although, knowing F1, that won’t last too long into next year.

Indeed, the fact that the Russell-Antonelli pairing has only been confirmed for 2026 has already been widely viewed as leaving the door ajar for world champion Max Verstappen for 2027 should Mercedes prove the team to beat in the first year of the major regulation change which is seeing chassis and engine rules overhauled (more on that below).

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has made no secret of his interest in Red Bull’s four-time world champion over the past 18 months, holding talks with the Verstappen camp in each of the past two years to determine the Dutchman’s possible availability and future intentions.

Verstappen’s Red Bull contract runs to the end 2028 but, like during this year up to the summer break, is thought to contain performance clauses which could allow him an early release were they to be triggered and if the Dutchman, of course, decided he did want a change of team.

Verstappen has opted to stay put so far though and finally ended speculation about 2026 at July’s Hungarian Grand Prix when he confirmed he would remain at Red Bull next season, a move which ended any real doubt over Russell’s future at Mercedes in particular given it was considered unlikely they would be paired together given past history of friction.

Will Russell be in the right place at the right time? And what about Verstappen?

If paddock whispers prove correct about who’s looking good for F1’s big 2026 rules reset, then Russell putting pen to paper at Mercedes may well mean the 27-year-old has signed himself into the plum seat on next year’s grid.

F1 is undergoing arguably biggest technical regulation change in its history this winter, with the chassis and engine rules being heavily revised, and Mercedes are strongly tipped to flourish.

That’s partly based on historical standing and precedent – Mercedes set off on a record run of eight consecutive constructors’ and seven consecutive drivers’ titles the last time F1’s engine regulations were overhauled in 2014 – and the fact they are one of only three teams on the grid who produce their own engines.

Ferrari are F1’s other long-standing chassis-engine builder, but lagged behind in 2014, while Red Bull, in partnership with Ford, join that exclusive group for the first time from 2026.

Given former team principal Christian Horner routinely described becoming an engine manufacturer as easily the “biggest challenge” of Red Bull’s two decades in F1, expectations around the initial competitiveness on the power unit have been tempered.

That’s not to say, of course, that Red Bull and Ford won’t get it right quickly in a season which has the potential to deliver significant pecking-order surprises.

It’s a season in which highly-ambitious Aston Martin, who become a works team in union with Honda for the first time and have the legendary Adrian Newey overseeing their car design, are looking to make the jump to the front of F1.

Back-to-back constructors’ champions McLaren too will fancy their chances of remaining at the front if engine providers Mercedes duly produce the power unit to beat.

Any one of those eventualities could sharply change future driver market dynamics in F1 and render the current expectations about where drivers will need to be to give themselves the best chance of winning races and world titles redundant.

If Mercedes duly get it right, then the seats at Brackley will become even more coveted and any fresh approach to Verstappen certainly becomes compelling.

But should they not, then it would not only present a less attractive option for Verstappen – who could see no reason to leave Red Bull if they perform well anyway.

Any Mercedes contract flexibility could then prove handy for Russell too, whose form this year – underlined by his second win of the season last time out in Singapore – places him firmly among F1’s leading drivers.

While it was Verstappen who Raymond Vermeulen was referring when the Dutchman’s manager recently said that “2026 will be a very important year” and “one that will determine where his future lies in Formula 1”, the reality is that he could have been speaking on behalf of any one of the grid’s leading names given the potential the new rules have to shake things up.

What will Russell have to say about it all?

There’s not long to find out.

Armed with a new deal that is thought to solidify his status in F1’s pay stakes in the bracket behind highest earners Hamilton and Verstappen, Russell will speak to the media during his usual Mercedes paddock duties on Thursday on the opening day of the United States Grand Prix weekend in Austin

He’ll be inevitably asked about the contract itself, recent negotiations over the final details of it and what it all means for him into 2026 and beyond, but there will finally be a different narrative for driver, team and journalists to discuss moving forward.

Stay close to skysports.com and the Sky Sports app on Thursday evening UK time for Russell’s first in-person thoughts on his new deal, plus all the big stories from media day in Austin ahead of the Sprint weekend at the Circuit of the Americas, live on Sky Sports F1.

F1’s title race now heads back to North America, with the United States Grand Prix in Austin up first this weekend live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime