George Russell makes retirement confession after private chat with Novak Djokovic

George Russell has revealed he wants to keep racing in Formula One well into his forties. The Mercedes driver also shed light on a piece of advice tennis legend Novak Djokovic gave him that will help him achieve that goal.

Russell has been racing in F1 since 2017, starting as a promising youngster for Williams before being brought in at Mercedes for the 2022 season. The Englishman, 27, learned directly from seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton during their three-year stint as team-mates, twice finishing above Hamilton in the drivers' standings. Now, as the Silver Arrows' No. 1 driver, Russell is enjoying his best and most consistent season to date despite the W16 not being as fast as some other cars on the grid. But Russell only has four career race wins to his name and has not yet come close to securing a maiden world championship title, which younger drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri could achieve this year.

When asked by TV personality Spencer Matthews on the podcast whether he can see himself becoming a world champion, Russell stated: "For sure, I don't know when it's going to come." He then went on to shed light on his meeting with record 24-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic at last year's Wimbledon.

He said: "I had a really good conversation with Novak Djokovic about human performance and what he's doing currently, but what he was also doing in his 20s. He said to me that in his 20s, he felt he could comfortably miss a day at the gym and it wouldn't affect him.

"But he didn't, and he's so grateful for that now because he thinks the work he put in during those years is allowing him to continue playing at such a high level into his late 30s. Formula One isn't as brutal on the body as tennis in terms of constant impact on your legs.

"But I want to be here well into my 40s, and when I see what Fernando Alonso's doing, that gives me inspiration that I can do that.

"Someone told me this morning that Michael Schumacher won his first title at Ferrari when he was 32 years old. You usually think of Ferrari and Schumacher as utter domination. That's what I need to tell myself to stay motivated."

There was growing concern in recent months that Russell could be replaced by none other than his bitter rival, four-time world champion Max Verstappen, after Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was reported to be interested in poaching the Dutchman. That has now been ruled out, at least for the next year-and-a-half, with Verstappen staying at Red Bull for the 2026 season.

Russell, who was set to be without a seat at the end of this year, has now been confirmed by Wolff as Mercedes' lead man for 2026. "Definitely, he's staying," the Austrian declared at the Hungaroring. "The team is strong. He has shown it today again."

Russell claimed Mercedes' first win of the season in Canada and has outscored team-mate Kimi Antonelli 187 points to 64 with the season just past its halfway stage, while securing five further podium finishes.