Both George Russell<\/a> and Andrea Kimi Antonelli<\/a> would have been well aware that they were entering the final year of their current deals.<\/p>\n Russell has gone from strength to strength this season, winning the Canadian Grand Prix and continually putting pressure on Max Verstappen in the drivers\u2019 championship<\/a>.<\/p>\n Position Drivers’ Championship PointsPts 1 266 2 250 3 185 4 157 5 139 6 109 7 63 8 54 9 37 10 27 <\/p>\n As a result, Russell appears to be edging closer to signing a new contract<\/a>, which would put his mind at ease given Mercedes\u2019 previous interest in Verstappen<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, Antonelli\u2019s recent difficult spell has put him in a tricky position.<\/p>\n The Italian teenager\u2019s podium in Montreal is the only time he\u2019s scored points in the last six races.<\/p>\n With Russell likely to be locked down on a new contract soon, journalist Chris Medland has shared how it could impact Antonelli going forward.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Mercedes driver George Russell\u2019s life outside F1 from net worth to height<\/a><\/p>\n Medland was speaking about Russell\u2019s future on the Pit Pass F1 Podcast and explained: \u201cNow, I got a steer ahead of the race that talks are going in the right direction essentially for Russell to be agreeing a new deal to stay at Mercedes beyond this season, and that it seems like it could well be a multi-year deal that will show faith in him from Mercedes, and that his long-term future will be secure at that team.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, I don\u2019t know about break clauses or anything like that, but it\u2019s something that Russell seems to be happy with, and the progress has been good.<\/p>\n TEAMDRIVER 1DRIVER 2AlpinePierre GaslyN\/AAston MartinFernando AlonsoLance StrollAudiGabriel BortoletoNico HulkenbergCadillacN\/AN\/AFerrariCharles LeclercLewis HamiltonHaasEsteban OconOliver BearmanMcLarenLando NorrisOscar PiastriMercedesN\/AN\/ARacing BullsN\/AN\/ARed Bull RacingMax VerstappenN\/AWilliamsAlex AlbonCarlos Sainz2026 confirmed F1 drivers<\/p>\n \u201cI think there just hadn\u2019t been a lot of progress for a number of weeks, but once we got that break in races, that allowed that to happen.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, it looks like Russell could be on the verge of a new multi-year deal at Mercedes.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen that might get announced, I don\u2019t know. From what I understood, it\u2019s not a done deal yet, it\u2019s just moving closer, and it\u2019s the most positive comments I\u2019ve heard on the topic since the start of the season, since we had some uncertainty over the interest in Max Verstappen as well.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, looks like things could be moving in the right direction for George.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Andrea](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2223792567-1-1024x683.jpg\")
Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli\/Getty ImagesMercedes set to agree on \u2018multi-year deal\u2019 with George Russell<\/p>\n