Back in 2022, Verstappen signed a bumper five-year contract extension with Red Bull in a deal that will keep him at the team until at least the end of the 2028 season. Russell’s contracts have been far shorter, with the Briton signing a two-year extension in 2023 to extend his stay with Mercedes until the end of 2025.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff confirmed last week that the Silver Arrows are trying to sign Max Verstappen; talks have since intensified, according to Sky in Italy; watch the British Grand Prix this week with Sundays race at 3pm,

Max Verstappen stormed to a fourth consecutive drivers' championship in 2024, becoming just the fifth driver to achieve that feat and the fourth to do so since the turn of the century