Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said a new deal for George Russell would end speculation linking Max Verstappen with the team.

Wolff gave Russell a rare “10 out of 10” mark for his performance at the Chinese Grand Prix, praising the Briton for having stepped up to the role of team leader after Lewis Hamilton’s departure.

Mercedes have ‘every intention’ of maintaining line-up to end Max Verstappen rumours

The Mercedes team boss spoke on more than one occasion last season about the potential of bringing the reigning World Champion to the Silver Arrows from Red Bull.

But despite reports linking him to Mercedes, and potentially Aston Martin, Verstappen remains under contract with Red Bull until the end of the 2028 season on his current deal.

With both Russell and Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli out of contract at the end of 2025 as it stands, that currently leaves a vacancy with Mercedes, should Verstappen look to make a move, though he has expressed he is happy with Red Bull.

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Even before the season, however, Wolff spoke about looking at keeping his current line-up into the future – and revealed he hopes to agree a new deal with Russell, which in turn would quell discussions around Verstappen, though nothing has yet been signed.

“Yes, absolutely,” Wolff told Motorsport.com when asked if Russell’s future with the team will look to be resolved soon.

“I mean, it is almost an open secret that we have every intention to keep our drivers for the long term.

“We are not disclosing every discussion that we have with the drivers and that is why this is going in the direction that it should go.”

When put to him that committing to Russell for the future would end speculation linking the team with Verstappen, Wolff replied: “Yes, exactly. But there is more to any contract than just giving a driver the fixed guarantee that he is going to be in the car.

“There are terms to it that you need to discuss for the best interest of the team and the driver, so it is a structured process.”

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