George Russell delivered an excellent response to Mercedes’ recent struggles by winning the Canadian Grand Prix rather comfortably from Max Verstappen.
It marked his first victory since last year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix and helped him close the gap to Oscar Piastri at the top of the drivers’ championship to just 62 points.
Russell is a man with a point to prove, with his contract set to expire at the end of the year, and no new deal in place yet.
Mercedes have invested a lot in him, and he’s entering the prime of his career. It would be foolish to let him go, so it’s safe to assume that they will want to keep him.
Russell’s ‘intention’ is to stay at Mercedes but there are some indications that Aston Martin may be interested in his services too.
Even Max Verstappen called Russell ‘really good’ after he had an excellent start at the Canadian Grand Prix. He was off into the distance immediately.
READ MORE: George Russell explains why Canadian Grand Prix win could now lead Mercedes to ‘struggle’ at other races
Toto Wolff ‘surprised’ that George Russell wasn’t affected by Mercedes issue in Canada
Russell said something strange about Mercedes talks and recently admitted that he doesn’t really have the time to wait for a new deal.
With the 2026 F1 regulations approaching fast, it may be that he doesn’t want to risk being left without a strong drive.
However, Russell admitted he’s a ‘little slower’ with the more media commitments he faces. Until his future is secure, that will be something that he has to face more and more.
His team boss Toto Wolff revealed to Auto Motor und Sport that he was surprised the Briton didn’t face one recurring Mercedes issue in Montreal
“I was surprised that the temperature increase didn’t affect us,” he said.
“The tyres are simply not challenged as much in the slow corners. It was the same last year. Back then, we threw away a victory. This time we were able to seize our opportunity.”
READ MORE: ‘No one’ inside the Mercedes team has ever said one thing about George Russell’s potential contract extension
Where else could George Russell sign for the 2026 F1 season?
With every strong performance, Russell’s value continues to rise, which might drive the price of his next contract up.
If Mercedes can win a few more races, he might still be able to be considered as an outsider for the championship.
But their underlying weakness on hotter circuits remains, and they still need to understand why they suffer in warmer climates.
Encouragingly, Canada wasn’t exactly cold, but figuring out why they were quicker will be more important to them than the result itself. That will help them build a better car in the future and give Russell a better opportunity to compete.
If not, he could be tempted to move elsewhere, with drives at Red Bull, Alpine and Cadillac all up for grabs in 2026.
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