Russell sold Mercedes one-year deal amid blunt Lewis Hamilton comparison

Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer looked to sell George Russell on why signing just a one-year Mercedes contract – in the face of a potential fresh Max Verstappen opportunity – would not be such a bad thing.

With Russell looking like a “champion in waiting” in Palmer’s view, the former Renault driver believes a sea of potential F1 2027 options, such as Ferrari, Aston Martin and perhaps even McLaren, could open up to Russell. F1 paddock veteran Rob Smedley meanwhile warns Russell that if Mercedes were willing to do a “one-plus-one” only with Hamilton, he definitely is not off limits, with Verstappen still a potential factor.

George Russell: Is a Mercedes one-year deal in his best interests?

This article was published before Mercedes confirmed George Russell’s new contract for the F1 2026 season.

With just six rounds remaining of the F1 2025 season, Russell is yet to sign a new Mercedes contract to keep him with the team for F1 2026. This is despite Russell piecing together arguably his strongest campaign yet, having picked up a second victory in 2025 last time out in Singapore.

When Verstappen re-affirmed his Red Bull commitment in the summer – in the face of public Mercedes interest – Russell signing a new Mercedes deal was expected to be a formality. Yet, no such announcement has been made.

“Russell’s played a blinder, hasn’t he?” Palmer stated on the F1 Nation podcast.

“Soak up a little bit of contract pressure in the summer, Max doesn’t take it, knock out a couple of great races – second in Baku, wins in Singapore – and then says, ‘Right, where’s my contract now?’ Surely he’s indispensable to Mercedes.”

Smedley is not so sure that Russell is.

The latest F1 ‘silly season’ marked the second time that Verstappen to Mercedes rumours failed to result in a move for the four-time World Champion.

Yet, Smedley understands Verstappen still to be in Mercedes’ sights, which could limit Russell’s long-term Mercedes prospects.

Just like how Mercedes were cautious with Lewis Hamilton’s final contract – considering Kimi Antonelli was on the rise – Smedley believes Russell would also be vulnerable to a “one-plus-one” deal to allow Mercedes an opening to get Verstappen in the car at the first opportunity.

“I mean, my understanding on that is that Mercedes, quite rightly, like any team with half an ounce of sense, are going to try to get Max Verstappen in their car,” said Smedley, Felipe Massa’s former Ferrari race engineer, and Williams’ former head of vehicle performance.

“You just want the best athlete on your team, whether or not that athlete is designing the car or driving the car, or whatever it is. You just want the best athlete, right? And I think it’s then up to the executive team to kind of manage that situation, but get the best athlete first off, and then we’ll manage the fallout of having that best athlete, whatever your sports team is.

“And remember that we had this situation very recently as well, in Mercedes, where the seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton was offered a one-plus-one deal. So there was security for a year, and then at the end of that year, you know, all bets were off and we would see whether we renewed for the other one or two years.

“So I think if Mercedes are prepared to do that with Lewis Hamilton, they’re certainly going to be prepared to do it with George, if the prize is Max Verstappen.”

More on George Russell from PlanetF1.com

👉 Russell to stay? Predicting the next move for every out-of-contract F1 driver

👉 Crucial George Russell ‘leverage’ emerges amid Toto Wolff benched claim

That being said, with huge changes to the chassis and engine regulations coming for F1 2026 – at which point Mercedes’ hopes of a title challenge will be renewed – Palmer says Mercedes would be “absolutely stuffed” if Russell decided to walk away from the contract offer.

“And imagine, if for whatever reason, George chooses to not sign for Mercedes… I mean, you have to say the other options for next year are not great for him. So he would be taking a bit of a hit, out of principle, there. But Mercedes would be stuffed.

“You’re heading to a new set of regs with Antonelli and another driver that you’re picking up from somewhere. All the established drivers that you’d want in the car are taken. They’d be absolutely stuffed for a massive championship-aspiring team.

“I think he [Russell] is top class.

“So, I think, Singapore Grand Prix, you’ve got Russell starting on pole, and I think you could have the faith that Russell, in a Mercedes, was capable of being a match to Verstappen and Red Bull, because I think George is ticking all the boxes. I don’t think there’s really anything left that he’s not able to do right now.

“And I still think Mercedes as a team, they know how to win races. They’ve not forgotten, from their DNA of winning all those titles, how to execute strategies, how to not be a rabbit in the headlights, you know, looking at plans B or C or whatever. They know what they’re doing.

“And I do think when you look at Russell’s season, it’s starting to look like he is very much a champion in waiting, I think.”

Yet, Russell should not turn his nose up at  a one-year deal, if that is what Mercedes are offering, says Palmer.

Such a sweeping overhaul to the F1 regs brings with it the likelihood of major shifts in the pecking order. And with the chance of seats available at major players, Palmer believes Russell would be sitting pretty with his 2027 options if he were free to take one.

“I still believe that George is proving enough right now… and with all the opportunities open for ’27, there will be one at Ferrari, potentially, Lewis will be out of contract at the end of next year. There will be Aston Martin, Fernando’s out of contract.

“I’m not saying they’ll move on, but there could be opportunities for a George Russell at his absolute peak.

“Who even knows what will be happening between Norris and Piastri then. There could be a chance [at McLaren], if things do get heated between them.

“And Russell will just hold all the cards next year, even if he does just do the one year.

“I think he’s driving at the top of his game. That’s the main thing. I mean, if we all had to say who are the top three drivers of this year, I would have Russell in the top two.”

Discussing the status of his Mercedes future with Channel 4 in Singapore, Russell suggested that the true sticking point came down to off-track commitments with Mercedes.

“This, as with every new contract you sign, it’s the most important one of your career,” he said. “I’ll be 28 next year. I’ve been with the team for so long, but there’s so many factors that I want to be right.

“And you sort of learn as you grow older what’s important to you. And you know, race weekends is just the iceberg of our job, and we spend so much time on the road with sponsorship days, days on the simulator, seeing the team.

“It’s the details, just finding that right compromise that you can still have a sliver of a life outside of a sport to be able to see my young nieces and nephews, who I see once a year.

“It’s things like this.”

Read next – F1 uncovered: How Mercedes made up lost ground to win in Singapore