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Russell believes Mercedes will try to sign Verstappen if chance arises
George Russell believes Mercedes will try to sign Max Verstappen if the possibility arise from the recent turbulence at Red Bull, and says that a partnership with the defending champion “would be exciting.”
Verstappen won the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix but against a backdrop of infighting at Red Bull, where his father Jos called for team principal Christian Horner to be removed from his role or risk the team being “torn apart.” The instability followed an investigation into Horner’s behavior that ends with a grievance against him dismissed, and with Verstappen Sr. also seen speaking to Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff in Bahrain, the prospect of Verstappen replacing Lewis Hamilton in 2025 has become a talking point.
“I think any team wants to have the best driver lineup possible, and right now Max is the best driver on the grid,” Russell said. “So if any team had a chance to sign Max, they would 100% be taking it.
“I think the question is more on the other side -- on his side and Red Bull’s side, obviously so much going on there. We don’t know truly what’s going on behind closed doors and ultimately it’s none of our business right now. I guess it would be exciting.”
Russell has been racing alongside the most successful driver in Formula 1’s history since 2022, and says that experience gives him the confidence to welcome any driver as his teammate.
“This is my third season now alongside Lewis, the greatest driver of all-time, and I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job alongside him," he said. "So whoever were to line up alongside me next year or in the years to come, I welcome anybody. I welcome the challenge.
“You always want to go against the best. But ultimately, for me, just focused on myself. I believe in myself, I believe I can beat anybody on the grid, and you’ve just got to have that mentality. So having Lewis as my benchmark the last couple of years has been a pretty good benchmark, for sure.”
Chris Medland
While studying Sports Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire, Chris managed to talk his way into working at the British Grand Prix in 2008 and was retained for three years before joining ESPN F1 as Assistant Editor. After three further years at ESPN, a spell as F1 Editor at Crash Media Group was followed by the major task of launching F1i.com’s English-language website and running it as Editor. Present at every race since the start of 2014, he has continued building his freelance portfolio, working with international titles. As well as writing for RACER, his broadcast work includes television appearances on F1 TV and as a presenter and reporter on North America's live radio coverage on SiriusXM.
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