Helmut Marko drops George Russell ‘revenge’ taunt in Mercedes contract theory

George Russell is yet to sign a new Mercedes contract, and Helmut Marko is not sure why, considering Max Verstappen is not on the market and no suitable Russell replacement exists to his mind.

Therefore, Marko, Red Bull’s senior advisor and driver programme boss, theorises that salary will be the sticking point. Or, Marko quipped, Russell is getting his “revenge” on Mercedes for being made to wait.

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Ahead of the summer break, Russell stirred the Verstappen to Mercedes rumours back up, claiming that talks between both parties were influencing his path to a new deal.

At the time, Mercedes did not have a contracted driver for 2026. Skip forward to the present day, and the team still does not have a driver signed for next season.

Verstappen eventually confirmed in black and white terms that he would remain with Red Bull for 2026. Yet, in the month and a half that has passed since, the expected announcement of a new contract for Russell has not materialised.

“Well, they’re certainly not waiting for Max,” Marko pointed out to sport.de. “And apart from that, I can’t think of anyone else who would be suitable as team leader.”

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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff recently offered an insight into why contract talks with Russell are progressing, but have not yet resulted in a signature.

Kimi Antonelli is also currently unsigned for next season.

“We’re continuing with both of them, of course,” Wolff told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets, “and with George, [he] has a few things where we want to optimise some of the travelling and the marketing days, how many hours we’re putting [in].

“He’s an experienced driver, and for us, it’s always important to talk about it. We want to have the best performance of the drivers, and I think we’ve given both of them quite a strain with marketing activities and media activities, and this is how we recalibrate.”

Marko put forward an alternate theory for the delay to Russell signing a new deal.

Russell is a graduate of the Mercedes driver academy, and the team is his management.

“I think these are salary negotiations,” he said, “after Russell was kept waiting for so long.”

Marko could not help but sign off with a cheeky quip over the saga.

“Perhaps this hesitation is his revenge for not having made an official decision yet,” said Marko.

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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