Russell: No need to make sales pitch to Mercedes

George Russell feels there is no need for him to make a “sales pitch” to Mercedes about why he would deserve a drive with its Formula 1 team, taking comfort in its decisions about his future.

Mercedes junior Russell has impressed through his first half-season in F1 with Williams, stepping up off the back of his Formula 2 title victory in 2018.

Russell’s performances led to speculation ahead of the summer break that he could be in contention to drive for Mercedes in 2020 alongside Lewis Hamilton.

The 21-year-old famously made a Powerpoint presentation to try and convince Williams to sign him for the 2018 season, but said he would not use a similar tactic to try and sway Mercedes F1 chief Toto Wolff on his future.

“No. Toto has all of the information at his fingertips,” Russell said.

“I’ve known the guys making these decisions for years, they know everything about me, so they don’t need a sales pitch.

“They just make the best decision for what they think is right for them.”

Wolff confirmed over the Hungary weekend that Russell was not a consideration for the vacant Mercedes seat in 2020, saying he did not want to “burn” the youngster too early in his F1 career.

Russell said he was content that Mercedes would be able to take the best decisions for his F1 future moving forward, allowing him to focus on his on-track performances.

“I think what is really great is that I know one way or another, my future is secure, and I can just purely focus on the job at hand,” Russell said.

“I know previous drivers and their previous experiences have been contract negotiating during race weekends, just before qualifying, talking about contracts, and what have you.

“In Mercedes, I’ve got a great management company. Their job is to make my life as easy as possible and to give me the chance just to focus on the job. That’s good."