George Russell will be a Mercedes Formula 1 driver next season, but is still in negotiations over a new deal as he seeks a "mutually beneficial" contract for 2026 and potentially beyond.

While the cynic's view of the situation would be that Russell is looking to massage a few more millions out of Mercedes, and take advantage of a season in which he has demonstrated a strong performance baseline, there's more to the situation than meets the eye.

In the prelude to the Singapore Grand Prix, Russell stated that he wanted his new deal to be "done right" and "fair"; while money will certainly be a consideration, there's the added complication of sponsor obligations to take into account.

Russell did not outwardly mention this as a factor, but the difficulty of managing marketing activities

See Full Page