Made to wait for a new Mercedes contract as Toto Wolff engaged in talks with Max Verstappen, Jacques Villeneuve believes George Russell is now making Wolff wait as he knows there is “no one” else that Mercedes can turn to.

Russell has spent a large part of the last two years quizzed on rumours that Verstappen could head to Mercedes. But while in 2024 the question was if Verstappen would be his teammate, this year it became whether the Dutchman might steal his seat.

‘The thing is, who else would Mercedes sign?’

That was finally laid to rest at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the final race before Formula 1 broke for its annual summer holiday. And it was Verstappen who put an end to it.

“It’s time to put an end to all the speculation and rumours,” Verstappen told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets. “For me, it was clear all year that I was going to stay.”

That was followed by Wolff declaring Mercedes would continue with Russell and his teammate Kimi Antonelli into the 2026 season with its all-new cars and engines.

“I’ve always said there’s not going to be any big news, because we’re doing this,” said the Austrian in Zandvoort. “We’re continuing with both of them, of course.

“With George,” he continued, “[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.”

But a month later, neither Wolff nor Russell have officially announced a new deal for the four-time grand prix winner.

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That’s because, Villeneuve says, the cards are all now in Russell’s hands.

“George Russell is very good,” Villeneuve told a betting website. “Out of all the other drivers, he’s the one that’s always showing consistency in getting the result.

“He’s matured a lot. He doesn’t seem to be making the mistakes he used to make.

“This season he’s really maximising the points he can get with that team and that car.

“It sounds like Mercedes are committed to George Russell and now it’s him that doesn’t want to commit anymore. Because he was annoyed that he had to wait.

“The thing is, who else would Mercedes sign? There’s no one available.

“On the other hand, there’s no team available for Russell either. So, it’s a pointless battle right now.

“That’s the key because everyone knows that Max has one year to go at Red Bull. So, anyone that’s not under contract for 2027 is at risk. It’s that simple.”

Russell is fourth in the Drivers’ Championship, in a battle with Verstappen to join the McLaren teammates on the F1 2025 podium. He has 212 points to Verstappen’s 255 with seven race weekends remaining.

Russell’s latest update on his Formula 1 future had him insisting it was not a worry, just a matter of time as – like Villeneuve attested to – neither he nor Mercedes is in a rush.

“Naturally, we wanted to take the summer off to sort of relax and reset, but [we are] positively moving in the right direction,” Russell said in response to a question from PlanetF1.com over his future.

“But I think as there is no time pressure from the team’s side and no time pressure from our side, we’re just ensuring it’s done properly.

“Of course, you are juggling priorities. It’s not like the world stops to sort a contract. We’ve got to worry about race weekends, we’re focusing on future development, already looking ahead to next year, sponsorship days, things sometimes do take longer than you would anticipate.

“But as I said, they’re positively going in the right direction.”

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