Mercedes boss planning to end Verstappen speculation with contract offer

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has said that a new contract for George Russell will end speculation linking Max Verstappen with a move to Mercedes at the end of the season.

The Silver Arrows lost Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari this winter, promoting teenager Kimi Antonelli into his place and making Russell their senior driver for the time being.

Russell's contract is up at the end of this year, and McLaren boss Zak Brown has tipped Mercedes to replace him with Verstappen at the end of the season, saying recently: "I think he’ll leave at the end of this year, most likely to Merc."

However, speaking to Motorsport.com, Wolff has revealed that he's looking to wrap up any Verstappen speculation sooner rather than later with a contract offer for current star Russell.

Asked if he was intending to tie up Russell on a new contract, Wolff said: "Yes, absolutely. I mean, it is almost an open secret that we have every intention to keep our drivers for the long term. We are not disclosing every discussion that we have with the drivers and that is why this is going in the direction that it should go.

Will Mercedes sign Max Verstappen?

Wolff insisted in the same interview that the Verstappen speculation will end when Russell signs his new deal, adding: "Yes, exactly. But there is more to any contract than just giving a driver the fixed guarantee that he is going to be in the car. There are terms to it that you need to discuss for the best interest of the team and the driver, so it is a structured process."

Russell has started the season in quietly impressive form, the only driver other than Lando Norris to end both grands prix thus far on the podium, leaving him third in the world championship standings.

"Why is he underrated? I don't know," Wolff said. "He is a top, top driver and we are lucky to have him. The decision to take Kimi on board, we dared to do it because we knew that we have George as a benchmark.

"The car doesn't go much faster than George and we know where the car will be with George, and that is the benchmark for Kimi."

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