Martin Brundle highlights George Russell contract advantage: 'The cards have turned'

Former F1 driver Martin Brundle has highlighted George Russell has returned to a position of advantage in his contract negotiations with Mercedes.

Russell is yet to pen a deal with the Brackley-based squad for 2026, as is rookie team-mate Kimi Antonelli.

Mercedes was known to have interest in signing Max Verstappen, who was hesitant for much of the year to confirm his plans for next year.

However, Verstappen has now declared he will remain at Red Bull next year.

Speaking recently to Sky F1, Russell stated he would “pay to fight for a world championship” as he seeks to put himself into title-contending position.

Brundle highlighted Russell deserves to be compensated for his services, hinting his remark could come back to bite him.

“Performance is everything, there’s no doubt about it,” Brundle told Sky F1.

“They all roughly know what each other earns. George is not going to want to be underpaid - why should he be?

“He’ll want some certainty. What he won't want to do is find himself in this position again next year if Max Verstappen happens to be on the market.

“If I was managing George, I would have said, ‘don't say you'll drive for nothing, or don't say you'll pay because that's going to come back and hurt us somewhere’. I know the point he was trying to make.”

However, with Verstappen now off the market, Brundle sees Russell in a stronger position to negotiate a deal that suits him.

“But the cards have turned around because suddenly George is far and away the best driver available in the world of F1 who doesn't have a contract next year,” he said.

“Suddenly he's like, ’I'm going to slow this down a little bit’. That's how I'm reading it anyway.”