Mercedes' Wolff Delays Russell Contract Talks Until Mid-Season

Mar.14 - Contract talks with George Russell are on the back burner for now, the British driver and his boss Toto Wolff admit.

In Melbourne, two interesting paddock developments are brewing. First, De Telegraaf newspaper reports that McLaren CEO Zak Brown recently got in touch with Max Verstappen's management to "explore the market".

And Mercedes' Russell was spotted sitting down in the Albert Park paddock for a chat with both Brown and McLaren team boss Andrea Stella.

Last year, Wolff openly flirted with Verstappen as a potential replacement for Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton. Ultimately, the team signed Kimi Antonelli.

But now, it is 27-year-old Russell's Mercedes contract that is expiring this year.

"We had a conversation a few weeks ago about what the right timeline for negotiations might look like," Wolff admits. "We'll definitely find time to talk about it before the summer.

"The point is not to disrupt our season."

The Austrian makes clear, however, that the era of flirting with Verstappen is over for now.

"If you already have a good relationship, you don't flirt with others," said Wolff. "The Verstappen topic is not currently on our radar at all. I want to focus primarily on my guys."

As for Russell, he insists he's not worried about the looming mid-season contract talks.

"I think we have a very long relationship and we trust each other a lot," he said. "And honestly, this is a sport that is all about results. So there's no pressure at all from my side about the contract.

"I have no doubts within myself, and I know that everything will fall into place when the time comes. And, like I said, right now we have more important things to think about that will help us get back to the top," Russell added.

Wolff, meanwhile, says he will try to minimise the pressure for Russell this year, especially as he now has an 18-year-old, highly-rated teammate with a much longer contract in his pocket.

"George knows we don't expect him to beat Kimi every time," the Mercedes team boss said. "We wouldn't have signed Kimi if we thought that would happen.

"I think Kimi is on a similar level to George in terms of speed. But there's still a lot for him to learn, especially with the tyres on the longer runs."

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