Mercedes driver George Russell doesn’t have a contract for the upcoming season – making him one of the hottest names in the driver market.
Russell is awaiting Mercedes’ final decision for their 2026 driver lineup. The team is linked to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Russell could be a potential Verstappen replacement at Red Bull, or he could join another team on the grid – Aston Martin.
Aston Martin is a British-based team and might be keen to get the highly regarded British driver.
However, Aston Martin CEO and team principal Andy Cowell played down the rumors of a Russell signing in the lead-up to Silverstone.
“We’re super fortunate. We’ve got this exciting run into 2026,” Cowell told the media ahead of the British Grand Prix.
“And as Christian mentioned, changing the power unit. We’re working with Honda on that. Changing the aerodynamics. We’ve got Adrian working on that. We’ve got new facilities.
“But the stability that we’ve got in having Lance and Fernando signed up for next year means that they’re not only helping us now develop the tools that we’re using for 2026, 2027, and beyond, but they’re working directly on the concept of the car.
“The discussions in the wind tunnel are about the aerodynamic shape, but they’re also about, you know, driver environment, how much space is there in the cockpit.
“Adrian intends not to leave much space in the cockpit. Everything’s exceptionally tight. But that stability of having two drivers signed up through into 2026 is really helping us.”
Aston Martin is in a complete rebuild heading into 2026, and while there is a connection to Mercedes due to the current powertrain, the team appears committed to giving Alonso another season in the car.
Russell is looking set to remain at Mercedes, and if Verstappen does make the move over to the German car manufacturer, the British driver could potentially end up at Red Bull.
The stars don’t align for Russell and Aston Martin this time around, but he could hit the market at a future time when the union makes more sense than it does now.
More F1 news: Hamilton Heartbroken After Hitting Animal Mid-Race, Damaging Car
For more F1 news, head on over to Newsweek Sports.
The post George Russell’s F1 Future Unclear as Aston Martin Responds To Rumors appeared first on Newsweek.
