New Delhi, Oct 17 : George Russell says he is 'in the best seat in Formula 1' to challenge for the world championship in 2026 after signing a new multi-year contract with Mercedes. The team officially confirmed on Wednesday that Russell and rookie Kimi Antonelli would continue as their driver pairing for the 2026 season.

The announcement, though widely expected after Max Verstappen reaffirmed his commitment to Red Bull, came following weeks of negotiation between Mercedes and Russell over final contract terms.

Speaking publicly about the deal for the first time on Thursday in Austin ahead of the United States Grand Prix, Russell said he never had any doubt about where he wanted to be.

'Looking into next year, there were a lot of things I wanted off-track to get right to allow me to perform at my very best on track,' Russell explained. 'And the truth is, if every single seat was available, and I could choose any single seat to race for in 2026, I would choose to be in the Mercedes.

'I truly think that is the place that will give you the best chance of winning the world championship next year with everything I know now. We might turn out to be wrong, but with everything we know now, I'm feeling really happy with the deal we've done, confident with the team, and looking forward to moving onwards and upwards.'

Formula 1 will introduce a sweeping overhaul of its chassis and power unit regulations in 2026, with Mercedes tipped by many to once again set the standard ' as it did in 2014 when it began a run of eight consecutive Constructors' titles.

While the team's statement only confirmed Russell and Antonelli for 2026, it did not specify contract lengths, prompting speculation that Mercedes may be keeping its options open for Verstappen in 2027. However, Russell confirmed to reporters that his deal extends beyond a single season.

'I think if you look at Formula 1 as a whole, people say a driver has signed for X years, but then it doesn't turn out to be like this, and there are all different clauses and stuff,' he said. 'It's almost like an irrelevant piece of information, because if things are going well, everything continues; if they're not, that's where the discussions happen, generally speaking.

'I'm loyal to Mercedes, they've shown their loyalty in me, and I believe going into 2026, Mercedes without a doubt has my best chance of winning a world championship.'

Russell added that his approach remains simple ' perform consistently and let results dictate the rest. 'It always just comes down to performance. For any driver, or at least for myself, what allows me to sleep well at night is knowing that my performances are strong, and that is what will keep me in the sport. Our intention and my goal is to continue with Mercedes indefinitely, and we're here to focus on winning in 2026.'

The 27-year-old Briton has enjoyed an impressive 2025 campaign, winning two Grands Prix ' including in Singapore ' and comfortably outperforming highly rated teammate Antonelli. Russell acknowledged that Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff's confidence in him was reflected in the terms of his new deal.

'I think it's less about what you believe, it's more about what you have delivered,' he said. 'Everybody believes they are worth more probably than the reality, but I think it's always down to what you have delivered on track ' the consistency, the performances, how you work with the team.

'And Toto has definitely recognised this and, given our circumstances within the team, he could have been much tighter with his offers, but he's been very generous. That's why I'm very happy because he also recognises that to win, you need the people to be happy and to feel valued and to give everything back to you. And that's what he's done, and that's why I'm here with a smile on my face.'

/IANS