British driver George Russell has revealed details of a rather extravagant request he made during negotiations for his new Formula 1 contract with the Mercedes team, a request that was ultimately denied. Towards the end of the 2025 season, Russell secured a contract extension with the Brackley-based squad, which will keep him with the team through 2026 as Andrea Kimi Antonelli's teammate.
The 27-year-old driver is keen to start adding Formula 1 cars to his personal collection, which already includes his "dream car" – a Mercedes-AMG One. It's therefore no surprise that he attempted to include a similar clause in his new contract.
“I would love to collect the Formula 1 cars I race,” Russell told auto motor und sport magazine. “But because of the budget cap, we only produce three or four chassis per year. Twenty years ago, when unlimited testing was still allowed, every team built 15 to 20 cars, which were regularly rotated.”
Unfortunately for the Mercedes driver, his efforts did not succeed.
“I tried to get a Formula 1 car during my last contract negotiations. But unfortunately, I didn't succeed,” the Briton admitted. “I would like to see teams find a way to produce monocoques outside the budget cap. We have enough of the other parts. Every driver has five engines per year.”
“I think Mercedes produces a total of 60 engines for each season. We also have many rear wings – for high, medium, and low downforce. There are also enough front wings and floors. We have at least ten sets of all other parts. But there are only three or four chassis. Maybe I should talk to the FIA about this.”