Here's why George Russell is not concerned about Mercedes interest in Max Verstappen

After taking a comfortable victory at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Russell was asked whether weekends like these assist him in contract negotiations. The Mercedes driver responded: “It doesn't hurt! It doesn't hurt at all. But, you know, as I've said many times, I'm not concerned at all about next year. I know I'm going to be on the grid next year. I feel that I'm driving better than ever. I still feel I've got more in the tank."

The Brit sits fourth in the driver's standings on 136 points, 62 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri who collided with teammate Lando Norris in the closing stages of the race.

“I feel ready to fight for a world championship, and I think results like today, results like Bahrain this year when we got half a chance of a good result, we're there to take it. And I'm pretty relaxed. Just enjoying the moment, enjoying my racing, and just taking it week by week," continued the Briton.

Subsequently, Russell was asked whether it’s already one hundred per cent certain that he’ll stay with Mercedes or if he’s also in talks with other teams: “No. 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.

“There haven't been any hard feelings with any of the talks that have been going around, especially around Max. Because, 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 number one for every single team. And that's understandable," Russell stated about his rival. Fans spent the early hours of the morning debating the late safety car 'gamesmanship' between the pair.

Finally, the Briton said: “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. We're in no rush to do contract negotiations. We want to win together. Especially Kimi and I being team-mates now – we're getting a result like today, 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?"

George Russell has no reason to be concerned about a potential move from Max Verstappen to Mercedes. As GPblog already reported, Verstappen is set to stay at Red Bull Racing. Sources close to the Dutchman indicate there’s little confidence within his camp that Mercedes currently has its operations in better shape than Red Bull.