George Russell has doubled back on his claim that next season “will” be his fifth year with Mercedes, admitting it is not yet “certain”.

Although Russell has been a part of the Mercedes family since 2017, joining the programme after his infamous PowerPoint presentation to Toto Wolff, he is facing an uncertain future.

Will George Russell spend a fifth season with Mercedes?

Russell is currently out of contract at the end of the F1 2025 season, with F1’s rumour mill once again linking Max Verstappen to his race seat.

According to paddock whispers, four-time World Champion Verstappen can exercise a clause in his contract to leave Red Bull if he is fourth or lower at a certain point of this season.

And having missed out on signing the Dutchman once, Martin Brundle says Wolff won’t let the opportunity pass him by again.

“I think if Max Verstappen sprung into the marketplace, I would be quite worried for George, actually, because Kimi is obviously their man for the future,” the former F1 driver told Sky F1. “So there’s a lot of ifs in there.

“George is doing a great job for him as team leader, but Toto missed Max once, I don’t think that he’ll miss him a second time should he get the opportunity.”

They are, however, far-reaching ifs.

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Wolff has made it clear several times that he doesn’t want to step out on his drivers, Russell and Kimi Antonelli, with the former’s contract renewal more a formality than a negotiation.

“Definitely not that long,” Wolff told the media, including PlanetF1.com in Monaco. “George and I are totally clear of how this is going to go and [there is] 100% alignment.

“There is no such thing as dragging this on, because that’s not what we do.”

But weeks on, no announcement has been forthcoming.

Russell, however, did appear to let the cat, or in this case the contract, out of the bag when he spoke with Motorsport-Total.com in a wide-ranging interview.

He said: “This is now my fourth year at Mercedes, next year will be my fifth…”

Pounced on by Frederik Hackbarth, he asked: “I mean… Is that certain?”

Russell replied: “No, it’s not certain. Nothing is certain.

“But if I stay with Mercedes, next year will be my fifth year with the team. Nobody knows when their time will come. You just have to make sure that you keep performing consistently, keep delivering.

“And what happens then – only time will tell.”

Wolff, meanwhile, has shut the door on signing Verstappen from Red Bull as he sees Russell and Antonelli as Mercedes’ future.

“We didn’t have any conversations,” the team principal told The Athletic. “At the moment, where it is with George and Kimi, there’s no doubt to question that set up for the future, as it goes.”

Russell is currently P4 in the Drivers’ standings on 111 points, 75 down on championship leader Oscar Piastri, while Antonelli is F1’s top rookie in seventh place with 48 points.

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