George Russell insisted that the uncertainty over his Mercedes future in the first-half of F1 2025 was \u201cno distraction\u201d for him.<\/p>\n
Russell<\/a> admitted that the matter of feeling \u201cappreciated\u201d or \u201cunderappreciated\u201d was quickly put to rest by signing his new Mercedes contract, after the rumours of a move for Max Verstappen were hushed.<\/p>\n George Russell: Mercedes contract situation \u2018no distraction\u2019<\/p>\n Russell was one of the standout performers in F1 2025, a season which yielded two grand prix wins at the wheel of the Mercedes W16. Yet, Russell went much of the year without a contract for F1 2026.<\/p>\n The Verstappen to Mercedes rumours returned ahead of the summer break, a rekindled interest which Russell himself brought to the media, by claiming that \u201congoing\u201d discussions between those parties was influencing his path to a new deal.<\/p>\n Even when Verstappen eventually re-affirmed his Red Bull commitment, the wait for an announcement on Russell\u2019s new deal went on.<\/p>\n It was after his win in Singapore that Mercedes announced new deals for Russell, and teammate Kimi Antonelli.<\/p>\n While speaking with PlanetF1.com, and a select group of other accredited media outlets, Russell was asked how distracting he found that contract saga, and whether at any stages, he felt underappreciated or taken for granted.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, to a degree, but I wouldn\u2019t say that was because of the conversations that\u2026 let\u2019s say, less of a contract saga as such,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n \u201cBut, it\u2019s very simple. Sometimes, you know, you\u2019re appreciated if you think you\u2019re getting your worth, and you feel unappreciated if you\u2019re not, regardless of conversations that are going on.<\/p>\n \u201cSo that was kind of rectified quite quickly when we signed the deal, and for me, it was as simple as that. It was no distraction. I just focused on the racing.<\/p>\n \u201cI guess there\u2019s also some lessons for me that whatever the noise is that\u2019s going on externally, there\u2019s no real need to worry too much about that. You can be the nicest guy or the most hated one, but if you get in the car and you do the job, nobody remembers or thinks about the rest. They only care about the lap times.\u201d<\/p>\n More on George Russell and Mercedes from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n Mercedes rule out Brawn GP-style march and downplay favourite tag<\/a><\/p>\n Mercedes begins new F1 era in sharing sound of new power unit<\/a><\/p>\n Arguably the highlight of Russell\u2019s season was Singapore. He upset the odds to claim pole position and delivered an accomplished drive to victory, five seconds up the road from Verstappen at the chequered flag.<\/p>\n As it turns out, that performance coincided with a critical point in Russell\u2019s talks over a new Mercedes contract.<\/p>\n Asked if he was proud of his consistent performances, particularly in the first-half of F1 2025, amid the insecurity, Russell said: \u201cI guess I never doubted it, but until, like, how my performances would be under certain scrutiny\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cWith those regards, Singapore was probably the weekend where the heat was turned up the most in terms of our negotiations, and that was the weekend where I had my best race of the year.<\/p>\n \u201cSo yeah, I guess I am proud of how I dealt with everything, but I never doubted it. I didn\u2019t think it was going to improve my performance. I didn\u2019t think it was going to make my performance worse.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019re always dealing with stuff, as like, if we put it on a top-level basis, as humans, every day, you have a good day, you have a bad day. One day you\u2019re happier, one day you\u2019re sadder, etc, etc.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve learned for myself, no matter my emotions, it hasn\u2019t really ever impacted my performance. So I kind of knew, with all of that noise that was going on, I didn\u2019t think it was going to impact my performance, at all. So I guess it\u2019s good, just to get a further confirmation of that.<\/p>\n \u201cI have always had the debate with my trainer, Aleix [Casanovas], who\u2019s been with me for like, eight years, and he always asked me, \u2018How does this situation, whatever that situation might be, not affect you?\u2019 And I\u2019m like, \u2018I don\u2019t know, to be honest\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t be on it every single day as a person, but when I\u2019m in the car, it doesn\u2019t matter what\u2019s going on in my personal life. It doesn\u2019t really affect me.\u201d<\/p>\n Additional reporting by Mat Coch and Thomas Maher<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n