Mercedes have reportedly extended George Russell’s contract until the end of the 2025 season. The Silver Arrows signed the Briton in 2021 in a contract that was worth a whopping $8,000,000 per year. This deal was described as a long-term deal but no timeline was given.
According to es.motorsport.com, Mercedes and Russell had already decided to extend their partnership at the end of last year. While the team has not made any formal announcement to confirm this extension even now, the report suggests that it is only now that this information is being retrieved.
Irrespective of when this agreement was reached, this contract extension is no surprise. Russell has proved his worth at Mercedes in the past two years by matching seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton consistently.
Now with Russell reportedly having signed a contract extension with Mercedes, it remains to be seen whether Hamilton will follow suit. The 38-year-old revealed this past Sunday that his team and Mercedes will sign a deal within the next 24 hours. However, there has been no update of the same yet.
George Russell is expected to lead Mercedes after Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes decided to sign George Russell at the end of the 2021 season after the Briton delivered some impressive performances with Williams from 2019 to 2021. The 25-year-old famously earned the name of ‘Mr Saturday‘ after he often outperformed the capability of the Williams during qualifying.
With Russell successfully managing to carry over this form to Mercedes, team principal Toto Wolff has also been all praises for his driver. While speaking in an interview last year, Wolf said (as quoted by motorsport.com), “He’s (Russell) integrated very well. It is almost like he’s been here forever“.
Because of how impressive Russell has been at Mercedes despite being with the team for just over a year, it was no surprise that the side will extend his current deal. The Briton had signed a contract at the end of the 2021 season, which was termed as a long-term deal.
It is pertinent to note that this is a vague term used in F1, where the parties involved want to show their long-term commitment towards each other. And at the same time, they do not want to reveal the terms of the agreement.
Russell has successfully managed to take the fight to Hamilton
George Russell had an outstanding first season with Mercedes last year as he stunningly defeated Lewis Hamilton in the world championship. The 25-year-old finished fourth with 275 points, while Hamilton finished sixth with 240 points.
Double podium! Mega result!! Big thank you to the whole team for continuing to push and making real progress with this car. This one is for all of you. 👊 pic.twitter.com/JKFvrVpibC
— George Russell (@GeorgeRussell63) June 4, 2023
While Hamilton has fought back this season, Russell is not far behind this year either. After seven races, Hamilton has scored 87 points, while Russell has scored 65.
After a poor start to the season, the two drivers seem to be working well together recently to help Mercedes close down the gap to leaders Red Bull. While there have been a few moments of tension between the two, for the most part, they seem to have a strong relationship.
