George Russell’s tenacious drive to second place in Bahrain could not have come at a better time, with the Briton reportedly negotiating a new contract amid rumours that Max Verstappen could be on the market.

That’s according to Martin Brundle, who prior to Sunday’s race admitted he was “quite worried” for Russell.

George Russell F1 future: A two-year extension awaits?

Russell is out of contract with Mercedes at the end of this season, but while in March it seemed a foregone conclusion when Toto Wolff told the media that Russell and Kimi Antonelli are the “combination that I want to go forward with Mercedes”, it has been suggested of late that Red Bull’s woes could see Verstappen back in the shop window.

The four-time World Champion has an exit clause in his Red Bull contract, one that PlanetF1.com understands contains ‘a performance element’, with some reports claiming P4 or lower allows him to shop around.

Wolff missed out on signing the Dutchman back in 2013, and according to Brundle, he won’t make that mistake 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,” he told Sky F1 in Bahrain. “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.”

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And then came Russell’s epic Bahrain Grand Prix performance.

Despite contending with an ailing car that meant he lost DRS and his brake-by-wire was intermittent, Russell held off the charging Lando Norris to split the McLaren drivers in an achievement no one saw coming given McLaren’s epic pace throughout the Sakhir weekend.

It, Brundle says, could not have come at a better time.

Declaring that “such was the pace of the McLaren” that Norris should’ve been second behind Oscar Piastri, the former F1 driver wrote in his Sky F1 column: “George Russell in an ailing Mercedes had other ideas though, and drove around fundamental braking and electrical issues brilliantly to hang on.

“Having made a great start too, this was surely one of his finest F1 drives.

“Very timely too as he looks for a new contract with the team for 2026 and beyond, especially given paddock talk about Max Verstappen being in the marketplace.”

According to rumours on Motorsport.com, they are claiming Russell is on the verge of signing a two-year extension with Mercedes with an option for 2028 in a deal that is worth around $30 million per season.

Sky Italia is reporting the same, the Italian publication adding that ‘Toto Wolff would like to close the deal as soon as possible’.

Wolff had previously spoken of a summer deadline for a new contract for Russell, saying at the Australian GP: “We have had a chat, two weeks ago, about what the right timing would be to liaise, and I am – naively or not – someone who sticks to what he says.

“And these three are the combination that I want to go forward with Mercedes. I have no other reasons to doubt that, on the contrary.

“And we are going to find some time, I guess before the summer… I need to be careful what I say to you, because every month will be. We’ll have those discussions when they happen, but promptly, without disrupting the season.”

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