George Russell was the man in the spotlight during Thursday’s press conference ahead of the British Grand Prix, as speculation about his future continued at hyperdrive speed.

The Briton is without a contract for next year and admitted he was not talking to any teams other than Mercedes, who has been rumoured to be trying to lure Max Verstappen from Red Bull.

Verstappen still has several years left of his contract with Red Bull, but the delay in Mercedes giving a new deal to Russell has inevitably led to rumours about his immediate future.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has held talks with Verstappen’s camp, and Russell said ahead of the Austrian GP that the reason he hasn’t been given a new contract is because the German squad is still trying to get Verstappen for 2026.

Wolff himself was evasive when asked by Sky F1 directly about Russell’s comments.

“I like what George says and I’m always supportive of the driver,” Wolff said. There is no such thing as saying things I wouldn’t want him to say.

“We are very transparent in the team for what we do, what we plan, and we’ve been like that since I was put in charge. That’s not the issue.

“At the moment, clearly you need to explore what’s happening in the future, but it doesn’t change anything of what I said before about George, about Kimi, about the line-up that I’m extremely happy having.”

Facing the media on Thursday at Silverstone, Russell insisted nothing had changed about his situation.

“No update since the last time,” he said. “We spoke, as I’ve said for the majority of this season, I’m just focused on the driving.

“Of course, this weekend’s a huge weekend for us. For me, my home race is my favourite race of the year, and that’s where I want to give all my focus and attention to try and win this grand prix.”

Asked if the delay in securing a new deal made him question the team’s loyalty, Russell said: “I mean, there’s a lot of conversations behind the scenes that are not public and I know where their loyalty lies and it doesn’t need to be public.

“It doesn’t need to be broadcast to everybody. We’ve obviously spoken, you know, a little bit more over the last week because, you know, there’s numerous news articles and whatnot out there. But in all honesty, it doesn’t really change anything my side.

“As I’ve said before, I feel I’m performing better than ever. And it’s as simple as that really. Performance speaks for everything.”

Pressed about what he would do should Mercedes decide to drop him, the Briton said the chances of that happening were “exceptionally low”.

“I think what I’ve proven so far has been plenty enough and yeah, not really much more to say,” he said.

“Teams who did reach out in the past, I said, look, I am loyal to Mercedes, that’s where my future lies. And ultimately, Mercedes are my managers, so it has to be dealt through Mercedes in the first place.

“There hasn’t been a lack of interest, let’s say, but I’ve been focused on my side.

“I am loyal to Mercedes, so I mean, everything will work itself out and the likelihood I’m not at Mercedes next year, I think is exceptionally low.”

Russell is enjoying one of his strongest Formula 1 seasons to date, having won the Canadian GP last month, and feels confident his performance has been strong enough to convince Mercedes he is the right man to lead the team.

“I mean, that’s for you to judge,” he said when asked if he felt it was unfair to be without a contract. “And for me, you know, I feel quite thick-skinned and I don’t really read much news or listen to rumours. And I just focus on the facts and I focus on the driving.

“I said it at the beginning of this year, you can have a contract, but if you don’t perform, you’re out. And if you do perform, everything sorts itself out.”