Though he doesn't name a prospective employer, George Russell admits he is seeking a multi-year deal from 2022.

In the third and final year of his current contract with Williams, it is unlikely that - barring a turnaround of McLaren proportions - George Russell will wish to remain with the Grove outfit.

Indeed, widely thought to be a shoo-in for a seat at Mercedes, on a day McLaren announces a new multi-year deal for Lando Norris, Russell admits that he is looking for a similar arrangement.

"I definitely think in the position I am currently, being a free agent as such, going into next year is a good position to be in," he told reporters in Monaco, "but I think stability and longevity is important.

"I think it's so clear with people moving around recently how difficult it is to jump in and adapt to a new team," he added, a clear reference to the likes of Daniel Ricciardo, Sebastian Vettel and Sergio Perez as they struggle to fully fit into their new teams.

"Wherever I find myself next year let's say, I'd like it to be for a couple of years," he admitted, "as it's so important to have that consistency to be able to grow and progress."

Looking ahead to a weekend that sees his team celebrate its 750th Grand Prix, Russell said: "Our Saturday performances have been very strong and obviously here, more so than ever, qualifying is the most important.

"On paper, so far, we are probably the eighth or ninth quickest team on qualifying pace and the ninth quickest team on race pace," he admitted, "but hopefully we can find a bit of magic as we have done in some races previously... on Saturday afternoon just to eek a couple more tenths out of it.

"On a track like this, it can be the difference between P15 and P9," added the 2018 F2 champion whose best qualifying this year was 11th in Portugal.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by SexyLadyRacer, 22/05/2021 20:09

"The most important point to note here is that a lot of experts in F1 with a lot more knowledge of what's really happening is saying that George Russell will be replacing Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes seat for next season, yet there are still these silly fools who continue to churn out these BS about how Toto wouldn't put a competitive driver in the second seat against Lewis Hamilton! That's just total rubbish!
I think this is proof that these silly people are just saying negative things about Lewis Hamilton for only one reason and one reason only!
#ENDRACISM "

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2. Posted by kenji, 20/05/2021 6:57

"@ SLR...you may be right in your prediction but a lot of so called 'pundits' have called it as well. What I'd like to know is are you just guessing or have you got a plant that feeds you insider knowledge direct from the Mercedes boardroom because that's where the decisions would be made ?"

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3. Posted by SexyLadyRacer, 20/05/2021 3:36

"Some people just keep saying the same old BS again and again and hope others believe them! It's total rubbish!

I can quite safely predict that Toto has already told George Russell that he will replace Valtteri at Mercedes next season!
When this is announced, will these silly people stop the BS and the bias against Lewis Hamilton?

I believe that even Valtteri has been told or he already feels this is coming, which is why he held Lewis up!
Valtteri didn't fold, Lewis passed him because Lewis was faster whether Valtteri was told or not! It's got nothing to do with Lewis being protected, Lewis is simply the best driver in the Mercedes team, and the whole F1 grid!
So stop the BS and stop the biased against Lewis Hamilton just because he is .!
#ENDRACISM "

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4. Posted by kenji, 20/05/2021 0:37

"No one at home...gone fishing!!! IMO there is no chance that Wolff will expose Hamilton to any real competition from within and everyone knows it. Clearly Bottas doesn't like it and we all saw what happened recently when he dared to check Hamilton out but then he folded. We go through this each year and if history teaches us anything it will be more of the same.."

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Russell seeking multi-year deal

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