Russell’s current contract with Williams expires at the end of the 2021 season and the Briton has been linked to a possible move to Mercedes for 2022 after his impressive delays since making his F1 debut in 2019.
Ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix last weekend, another piece of the puzzle in the 2022 driver market was completed with the news that Lando has signed Norris McLaren with a new multi-year contract.
Norris, along with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, has held guarantees for their medium to long-term future in F1, but Russell’s career path beyond the end of 2021 has not yet been decided.
Ahead of the Monaco weekend, Russell insisted he was keen that his next F1 deal would be a multi-year deal, regardless of where he ends up.
“In any case, my position as a free agent as such for next year is a good one,” he said.
“I think stability and durability are important. I think it’s so clear that it’s been so clear lately how difficult it is to adjust to a new team.
On the subject of matching items
“So I think wherever I am next year I want it to be at least a couple of years because I think it’s so important to have that consistency in order to grow and make progress.”
Russell’s hope of getting a Mercedes seat in 2022 depends on whether the German marquee decides to keep Valtteri Bottas. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton says he plans to stay in the sport for at least another year.
Should Mercedes decide to offer Bottas an extension into the next season and beyond, the most likely option for Russell is to agree to a new deal with the Mercedes-powered Williams team.
When asked if he would be willing to offer Russell a long-term contract to keep him at Williams, Capito replied, “Of course.
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“He’s doing a great job, he’s a fantastic driver, we’ve built a really good relationship and I think he would be a very good fit for Williams in our future too, and I think if he believes in our future it could be give chance to keep him.
“I think you know George has been a Mercedes driver for many years so I don’t think they will let him go,” he added. “We’ll see. We have time to talk about drivers. We don’t have to discuss it now.”
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