Mercedes talking to Verstappen for 2026 - Russell

George Russell is 19 points behind Max Verstappen in the drivers' championship going into the Austrian Grand Prix

George Russell says Mercedes are talking to Max Verstappen about signing him for next season.

The 27-year-old Briton is out of contract with Mercedes next year, and his remarks bring back to the surface a narrative that always threatened to dominate this summer in Formula 1.

World champion Verstappen is under contract to Red Bull until the end of 2028, but the deal is said to have break clauses that the Dutchman could use to exit.

"It's only normal that conversations with the likes of Verstappen are ongoing," Russell told Sky Sports.

"But from my side, if I'm performing as I'm doing, what have I got to be concerned about? There are two seats in every Formula 1 team."

Russell added to BBC Sport: "Toto has made it clear to me that how I'm performing is as good as anybody.

"There is only one driver that you can debate in terms of performance. These are his words and not my words, and that is why I have no concern about my future.

"But there are two seats to every team and I guess he needs to think who are those two drivers."

Russell's comments imply that his own contract talks with team principal Toto Wolff are being delayed by Mercedes' conversations with the four-time champion.

Wolff said at the Austrian Grand Prix on Friday: "George has always performed to the expectations we set. We haven't given him a car to win the world championship in the last three years and that's on us.

"The times the car is good, he has been winning races. You know he is going to extract what's in the car.

"In a normal business the contract discussions are not being held as town halls, everything is normal, everything is going to plan."

In direct response to Russell's comments on Verstappen, Wolff said: "You are going into territory I don't want to discuss out there. People discuss and explore, and in our organisation people are transparent. But it doesn't change a millimetre of my opinion of George."

Verstappen refused to directly comment when he was asked on Thursday whether he would be staying with Red Bull next year.

"I don't think we need to talk about that," he said. "It's not really on my mind. Just driving well, trying to push the performance, and then we focus on next year."

Max Verstappen, seen here spraying champagne over Russell after the Canadian Grand Prix, has only driven for Red Bull teams in Formula 1 since making his debut as a 17-year-old in 2015

A move to Mercedes could be interesting for Verstappen because of two key factors - current performance and future potential.

Red Bull have lost the performance edge they had from the start of the latest regulations set in 2022, and since the middle of last year their car has generally not been a match for the McLaren.

Verstappen has said on a number of occasions that he does not believe he is really in the title fight this season. He is third in the championship, 43 points behind the leader, McLaren's Oscar Piastri.

Red Bull have also in the past year lost two major figures who were instrumental in their success - design legend Adrian Newey has moved to Aston Martin and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley is now at Sauber.

McLaren have also signed Red Bull's head strategist Will Courtenay, although he is currently being held to his contract and will not be able to leave until next year.

At the same time, Red Bull are believed within F1 to be behind Mercedes in their development of the new engine that is required for a major rule change next year, which will see new cars and power-units in F1.

Verstappen might believe that Mercedes, who won the last race in Canada with Russell, would be a more competitive proposition from 2026 than Red Bull.

Verstappen's father Jos also has a tempestuous relationship with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, which dates back to the allegations of sexual harassment made against Horner by a female employee in December 2023.

Horner has always denied the allegations and has been cleared by two internal investigations.

Russell and Verstappen have a difficult relationship so it is difficult to imagine the two working well together if Mercedes were to sign the Dutchman.

Russell's team-mate this season is Italian rookie Kimi Antonelli, like the Briton a Mercedes protege.

Wolff was asked about Russell's future at the Canadian Grand Prix two weeks ago.

He said: "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 and one race after the other in June and July, but we're going to get there."

Asked directly whether he would sign a new contract with Russell, Wolff said: "We're going to get there. He's been a Mercedes junior in the same way that Kimi was since he was 16, so it isn't dependent on whether he wins a race, whether he performs, because we know he can."

Mercedes have been approached for comment.