George Russell has reaffirmed his belief that he will be driving for Mercedes in 2026 amid speculation linking Red Bull's Max Verstappen with his seat.

Russell, who is out of contract at the end of this season, suggested at the Austrian Grand Prix that conversations had been held between Mercedes and Verstappen.

Russell claimed those talks were delaying negotiations regarding his own contract, with reports suggesting Mercedes are committed to keeping his team-mate Kimi Antonelli.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is a long-term admirer of Verstappen, who currently sits third in the drivers' championship, nine points ahead of Russell. 

Wolff responded by saying Russell is more likely to drive for the Silver Arrows in 2026 than Verstappen, though he did not deny he was speaking to the world champion's representatives.

Red Bull have seen a plateau in performance after dominating the field for the last four years, which included a near-perfect 2023, when they won 21 of the 22 races. 

Verstappen has repeatedly criticised the team's RB21 car and refused to commit to their long-term vision, with Red Bull already 255 points behind leaders McLaren in the constructors' standings, 11 races into the season.

But Russell remains confident he will not be moved on to make room for the Dutchman, telling BBC Sport: "The likelihood I'm not at Mercedes next year, I think, is exceptionally low.

"I don't take that personally because I made it clear from the beginning. I'm happy to be team-mates with anybody. I want to continue with Mercedes into the future.

"The fact is, Toto has never let me down. He's always given me his word, but he's also got to do what's right for his team, which includes me. But it also includes the thousands of people who work for Mercedes.

"For me, it's nothing to worry about because I don't think I'll be going anywhere. And whoever my team-mate will be, it doesn't concern me either. I know where their loyalty lies. It doesn't need to be public. It doesn't need to be broadcast to everybody.

"I feel I'm performing better than ever. And it's as simple as that really. Performance speaks for everything."

Verstappen is currently contracted to Red Bull until 2028, though it is believed there are clauses in the deal that would allow him to leave the team at an earlier date.

The 27-year-old said last week that his focus was on improving the performance of the RB21, and he refused to entertain speculation about his future upon arriving at Silverstone for this weekend's British Grand Prix.

"I have nothing to add. Nothing has changed from my side," Verstappen said. "Last week we didn't have a great result.

"I think it was not a great weekend, but also a bit unlucky in general. I don't say, of course, that we should be challenging McLaren, but we could have had a decent result.

"And everything that I said that week is still the same. Nothing has changed from my side."

But one driver who likes the idea of Verstappen working with Mercedes is Lewis Hamilton, who spent 12 years with the team before joining Ferrari for the 2025 season. 

The seven-time world champion sent records tumbling during his stint with the team, and he believes Verstappen would thrive in the environment he enjoyed for so many years. 

"Of course," Hamilton said. "If someone, anyone, was going to ask me about Mercedes, it's an amazing team, also with great passion.

"They've got great personnel, it's a great factory, a great environment to work in. I'll be interested to see what happens."