10 hours ago
2
George Russell walked with a jaunty air into the Circuit of the Americas, a brilliant circuit just under 15 miles southeast of the music bars of downtown Austin, the Texan capital that delights in its self-depiction as ‘weird’.
Indeed ‘Keep Austin Weird’ is embossed on T-shirts and mugs and all the paraphernalia sold in the streets here.
This is a favourite venue of the travelling F1 contingent, a generous and party-loving place with a big student population that fancies itself as a groovy variant in the giant Lone Star state (268, 597sq miles, 31-million inhabitants, highways as wide as Wales) and its gunslinging heart.
As for Master George, aged 27, officially, but described by his father as born 40 years old, there was a handshake here, a handshake there, an extra bounce in his step as he entered the paddock.
He has completed his task of negotiating a new multi-season contract at Mercedes, worth some £30million a year, and almost as importantly as the boost to his bank manager, he secured the terms that, finally and deservedly, mirrored his status as the team’s top dog in its post-Lewis Hamilton era.
For a bone of contention over the protracted months of discussion with team principal Toto Wolff was the number of days of marketing and sponsorship work he would be required to do – all those glad-handing commitments drivers realise is part of the F1 money-go-round, but which they often fulfil through the gritted teeth of forced smiles.
George Russell had a spring in his step as he strode around the paddock in Austin, Texas
The Mercedes star is armed with a fresh £30million-per-deal deal to reflect his status
Crucially, it has reduced his sponsorship duties from 70 to fewer than 50 per year, allowing him to concentrate on his racing (pictured with team-mate Kimi Antonelli)
Russell, it is understood, has been granted his wish to reduce such duties from some 70 annually to fewer than 50, believing that this will assist sustained performance in seasons as demanding as they are in modern Formula One.
Admittedly, he is hardly going down the mine without a canary, he knows, and, yes, he is well remunerated, but 24 races across the world in different time zones is clearly a drain on the body and thus impacts on longevity and the capacity to perform at peak condition in elite sport.
‘I want to get ahead of the curve on this to give myself the best chance to continue into the future at the same level as I am now,’ said Russell, who comes into this weekend’s US Grand Prix having won in Singapore a fortnight ago, his second victory of 2025, a campaign in which he has again proved himself among the best on the grid in a mercurial Mercedes. His second place in Azerbaijan two weeks before was achieved despite enduring a serious fever.
Of the demands of his off-track work, he added: ‘After Singapore, I left after an hour-and-a-half’s sleep to fly to Malaysia to then fly back to Singapore overnight to then fly to Switzerland to be with sponsors. Is that your perfect recovery after the most physical race of the season? No.
‘But it’s part of the job. Now it’s about finding that right balance and compromise and that’s what we’ve worked on.
‘I recognise that you’re never going to go to zero days of marketing but there are more efficient ways we can do it. The team have done an amazing job to almost bring the days closer to where I’m going to be in the world rather than me flying there, and that’s made a huge difference.’
He was rightly able to call some shots in talks with Wolff, for as well as beating Hamilton in two of their three seasons together, he has spanked his team-mate Kimi Antonelli. 237 points plays 88. However, the Italian is only 19 and obviously very quick. It is just that Mercedes have perhaps over-hyped rather than given Antonelli space to develop at his own pace. Maybe he should have spent a year or two at a lowlier team to learn his craft off the radar of scrutiny.
Only Max Verstappen could conceivably claim to have driven better than Russell, in a Red Bull that, like the Mercedes, is not McLaren-esque fast.
He may also get to spend a bit more time with his girlfriend, Carmen Montero Mundt
Toto Wolff was willing to give Russell some leeway due to his success in recent years
For now, at least, all is well for the Briton, being in a team that is well-placed to develop a strong car – and more predictably the supreme engine – in the major regulation changes to be introduced next year. It gives him a realistic chance of becoming world champion 12 months or so from now, his only opportunity to date.
As for Verstappen, he is still sought after by Wolff, who has wooed him for a year or more. The Dutchman is staying at Red Bull for another season and will then assess who is fastest in the new environment and he would consider moving to Mercedes if evidence suggested he should.
But, for now, that spectre aside, a contented Russell is No1 in the house.
