New Mercedes deal for Russell was “never in doubt” - “Always part of the plan”

On Thursday afternoon, Mercedes announced Russell and Lewis Hamilton will form their driver line up until the end of 2025.

Russell was promoted to Mercedes from Williams for the 2022 campaign as Valtteri Bottas’ replacement.

Reacting to the announcement of his new contract, Russell told Sky: “It was always part of the plan for us and it was never in doubt either way. 

“I joined this team when I was 17 years old, racing in F3 and they’ve always had their belief in me. 

“That was always part of the plan. Win F3, win F2, get to F1, get in a Mercedes and win the F1 title with Mercedes - that’s the plan for us. We’re not where we want to be right now but it’s just the beginning and we’re on our journey.”

Russell enjoyed a great first season with Mercedes, taking his only win at the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Since then, he’s struggled to beat teammate Hamilton.

“You need to beat everybody,” he added. “I showed what I was capable of last year. Winning the race for the team and pole positions. 

“This year has been a challenging year for me but it’s not been through a lack of pace. It’s just things haven’t been clicking in the right way in certain places. The car hasn’t been where we want it to be but I think last weekend in Zandvoort was a good reset. 

“The pace was there. I think we were right behind Max at Zandvoort to be on the podium but obviously it was a challenging weekend. Last half of the season is going to be exciting. We’ve got a couple of goals - try and win a race this season, try and get P2 in the championship for the team but the big one is next year.”