George Russell insists he is “ready to be champion” after penning his new Mercedes deal. The Brit, 27, has enjoyed the best season of his Formula 1 career, shining in the lead driver role since escaping from Lewis Hamilton’s shadow.
And now he is reaping the rewards, having agreed a £30million-per-season contract which sources suggest is a multi-year deal. The only thing Russell hasn’t yet had is a chance to challenge for the F1 title. Now that he has secured his place with Mercedes in 2026 and possibly beyond, that is next on his agenda.
He wrote in The Players’ Tribune: “I believe in myself and my team. I am prepared for what is to come. I am ready to be champion.”
Russell stepped up to Mercedes in 2022 and immediately made an impression up against seven-time World champion Hamilton. He was the only one of the pair to win a race that season, at the Brazilian Grand Prix – the first of his five victories to date.
Russell says he “hasn’t done anything yet” in F1 and “doesn’t like to dwell on winning one or two races”. But recalling that maiden triumph he said: “I’ll never forget that feeling. It was a moment I’d always dreamed about.
“You visualise it in bed at night as a kid… Qualifying front row, leading the pack the whole way to a win. Or maybe, in the fantasy, there is some pressure, like in 2020, when Lewis got Covid and I got called up to take his spot. I guess someone didn’t want me to win that day, for whatever reason.
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“I’d always wondered how it would feel. Something I never considered though, was how others would feel. When I won, in the pouring Sao Paulo rain, seeing members of my team crying with emotions, seeing my family crying and seeing the pride in their faces… That’s something I’ll never forget.
“Ultimately, every single one of those people impacted my journey so much. They’re the ones who got me to where I am today. So it was their win just as much as my own.”
Russell has improved with every season and has a long F1 career ahead – he is some 17 years younger than Fernando Alonso, the grid’s current elder statesman. He’s also 14 years Hamilton’s junior and, just as the seven-time champion had the luxury of choice to walk into a Ferrari seat when he wanted, Russell wants to give himself the power to decide his own destiny.
He said: “[Hamilton] has given himself the ultimate gift… The gift of choice. That’s what I want one day. I’m trying to build a structural foundation for the future to ensure that when I’m 35, 36, closing in on 40, that it’s on me to decide if I want to continue in F1 or not.
“That it’s not because my performance has dropped, or I can’t deal with the travel anymore or the time zone shifts.That will eventually happen. But you don’t fall off a cliff, right? You tail off. And nobody knows if you’re tailing off at 27, at 30, at 35, at 40.”