Andy Cowell plays down speculation about potential of George Russell joining Aston Martin in F1 2026 amid flying stories about Mercedes departure.
Amid the rumours of Max Verstappen moving to Mercedes, some reports emerged about Russell moving to Aston Martin as they look for a future beyond Fernando Alonso at some point. In addition, there were stories about Verstappen to Aston Martin as well.
But for now, most put the Dutchman at Mercedes, with Russell at Aston Martin potentially. Amid all this, Red Bull dropped a bombshell of Christian Horner getting replaced by Laurent Mekies. This may play up with the F1 driver market too, considering negotiations may change order.
Aston Martin has deal in place with both Alonso and Lance Stroll for 2026 F1 season, which team boss Cowell says is how they plan it to be and how it will be. The team is gearing up to get together with Honda in the brand new era and wants stability in the drivers’ corner.
“We’re super fortunate, we’ve got this exciting run into ’26,” said Cowell. “Changing the power unit – we’re working with Honda on that – changing the aerodynamics, we’ve got Adrian working on that, we’ve got new facilities. But the stability that we’ve got in having Lance and Fernando signed up for next year means that they’re not only helping us now develop the tools that we’re using for ’26, ’27 and beyond, but they’re working directly on the concept of the car.
“The discussions in the wind tunnel are about the aerodynamic shape, but they’re also about driver environment. How much space is there in the cockpit? Adrian tends not to leave much space in the cockpit. Everything’s exceptionally tight. But that stability of having two drivers signed up through into ’26 is really helping us,” summed up Cowell.
Even for Russell, he has reiterated that he remains loyal to Mercedes, when asked about any contingency plans. “[I am] pretty confident, to be honest, because I think what I’ve proven so far is plenty enough and not really much more to say,” he said. “Any teams who did reach out in the past, I said, look, I am loyal to Mercedes. That’s where my future lies.
“Ultimately, Mercedes are my managers, so it has to be dealt through Mercedes in the first place. But there hasn’t been a lack of interest, let’s say. But I’ve been focused on my side. I am loyal to Mercedes. At the end of the day, everything will work itself out. And the likelihood I’m not at Mercedes next year, I think is exceptionally low.”
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