Russell: Why wouldn't teams be interested in Verstappen?

Russell won the Canadian Grand Prix last weekend but is yet to agree to a new deal with Mercedes for 2026 and beyond, with speculation that Toto Wolff is waiting to see what Verstappen's plans are before locking down Russell and Kimi Antonelli as well, who is not confirmed beyond the current season.

Verstappen is tipped to leave Red Bull, with reports claiming he may be on his way to either Mercedes or Aston Martin, where he would be rejoining Adrian Newey.

Russell and Verstappen have had a fractious relationship with multiple on-track incidents as well as off-track battles of words, but the Briton insists there are now no hard feelings against the Dutchman.

He said: "There haven't been any hard feelings with any of the talks that have been going around, especially around Max.

"Like I said numerous times, why wouldn't teams be interested in Max? If every driver had no contracts for next year, Max would be No 1 for every single team. And that's understandable.

"But ultimately, there are two seats for every race team. I knew if I continue to perform as I'm doing, my position would not be under threat whatsoever.

"So, I feel in a good place," he insisted after taking his fourth F1 career win in Montreal last Sunday.

And while some reports have linked Russell with Aston Martin, he insisted that is not the case; he said: "I'm not talking with anybody else and any teams who have shown interest.

"I have been quite open to say my intentions are to stay with Mercedes. That's always been clear. And I am loyal to Mercedes. They gave me this chance to get into Formula 1.

"We're in no rush to do contract negotiations," he added, explaining the status of his contract negotiations. "We want to win together, especially Kimi and I being teammates now.

"We're getting a result like Canada, both junior drivers from Mercedes. We're both doing the job in terms of performance. Why would you want to change something that's working?"

On the other hand, and while Wolff's monitoring of Verstappen's plans is the worst-kept secret in the F1 paddock, the Austrian insisted that talks with Russell are progressing naturally.

"He's been so long with us," Wolff said. "He's growing and the steps he's made from that young driver in Williams, then coming to Mercedes at a difficult time, being on par with Lewis, and since Lewis left, being clearly the senior driver in the team, and it comes natural.

"It's not like there's some politics. He's just taken the place that he merits and deserves. The ambience in the team is great, and we've agreed on some kind of timeline when we want to settle these things.

"With triple-headers getting out of the way, then one race after the other in June and July, but we're going to get there.

"He's been a Mercedes junior since he was 2016. It isn't dependent on whether he wins a race or performs because we know he can," the Mercedes boss maintained.

Quizzed at the premiere of the F1 movie about Russell's contract talks progress, Wolff responded: "[It is] all on plan."

(Quotes from Sky Sports F1)