2025 Mercedes-AMG | Petronas F1 Team

[Tonino]

Fans of drivers are something else. “George deserves a 2+2 or 3+3 contract, he’s proven himself.” Proven what, exactly? Winning a couple of races doesn’t make you worthy of a long-term, high-paying deal. Yes, he hasn’t had a championship-winning car yet, fine, but until he’s actually in a title fight and doesn’t choke, he hasn’t earned anything.

Mercedes is not a charity. This is Formula 1, one of the most cutthroat businesses in the world. If a driver isn’t on a short leash, the team is failing at their job. So honestly, props to Toto and the Mercedes board for refusing to cave to overhyped driver demands. They’re doing what’s best for the team, not what makes fanboys happy.

Right now, the only driver in F1 who truly deserves a multi-year, mega contract is Max Verstappen. Everyone else is replaceable. The thought of "locking" someone like Lando Norris into a long-term deal is just painful.

[Matt2725]

I hope Russell has ensured he only gets 1+1 and stay open for 2027. If Mercedes is good for 2026, then he can potentially win a title and then continue for 2027 and beyond. If Mercedes fails again like 2022, then he can look at Aston Martin or Red Bull or perhaps Ferrari for 2027 depending on who has a good package. Given the current form and his talent, he shouldn't commit long term for Mercedes and keep his options open, which at the moment, he fully deserves.

He wouldn't have chased that because it opens the door for him to get shafted for 2027. Any driver worth their salt would have done everything they could to block the option off for the team replacing him with another driver, at least not without taking a financial hit.

[SB15]

Special Racing Overalls

[Lasssept]

[JPower]

Fans of drivers are something else. “George deserves a 2+2 or 3+3 contract, he’s proven himself.” Proven what, exactly? Winning a couple of races doesn’t make you worthy of a long-term, high-paying deal. Yes, he hasn’t had a championship-winning car yet, fine, but until he’s actually in a title fight and doesn’t choke, he hasn’t earned anything.

His short-term success is not why people feel like he is worthy of having a multi year deal. It's plainly obvious that his outright pace(I think he's as quick as anyone on the grid over one lap), his results since joining Mercedes(including going toe to toe with the 7x champ from the jump), and increasing maturity make him a top level driver and one Mercedes can bank on delivering results.

I'm not blaming George for wanting a long-term deal, nor Toto for keeping his options open in case Max shows up to the office. But I think George is a driver you'd want to keep on the team for awhile. In today's F1, continuity is worth a lot IMO.

[Jurgen von Diaz]

Fans of drivers are something else. “George deserves a 2+2 or 3+3 contract, he’s proven himself.” Proven what, exactly? Winning a couple of races doesn’t make you worthy of a long-term, high-paying deal. Yes, he hasn’t had a championship-winning car yet, fine, but until he’s actually in a title fight and doesn’t choke, he hasn’t earned anything.

Well, if you look, Mr. Leclerc, Norris and Piastri have long contracts and have won just couple of races. Norris and Piastri haven't even won any races without a dominant car like Russell has.

[AR3-GP]

Rosberg was only offered 2017-2018 after winning a championship. Bottas was getting 1 year renewals. Antonelli has a 1 year deal for the 2nd consecutive year. Russell has no championships, and he got a deal as good as Hamilton and Rosberg who were champions. Therefore, he has nothing to complain about.

[WardenOfTheNorth]

Rosberg was only offered 2017-2018 after winning a championship. Bottas was getting 1 year renewals. Antonelli has a 1 year deal for the 2nd consecutive year. Russell has no championships, and he got a deal as good as Hamilton and Rosberg who were champions. Therefore, he has nothing to complain about.

Agreed. It's just the way Mercedes do their contracts. Even Lewis during his dominant period was only getting a couple of year extensions at a time.

[Lasssept]

[Lasssept]

[venkyhere]

a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

[f1isgood]

Probably more that Russell could have done.

[nitrotech]

[AR3-GP]

George Russell has taken Toto Wolff to the cleaners.

[f1isgood]

George Russell has taken Toto Wolff to the cleaners.

Absolutely. But it could also be because it's a one-year contract. Russell's not letting out anything regarding the length of the contract. I suspect that it is 1 confirmed + 1 undecided.

He has been good but I don't think anyone warrants 30m a year before winning their title. I think even Max was only on 20m a year pre-2021.