George Russell is confident about facing any teammate in Formula 1, with rumours emerging about a shock Verstappen move to Mercedes.
Speculation is a normal aspect of Formula 1, but the last three months have been especially active. In the last few days, reports have increasingly linked Max Verstappen to a potential Mercedes deal. George Russell has outlined how realistic such a blockbuster deal is.
When Ferrari announced the signing of Lewis Hamilton for 2025, a spanner was thrown into the F1 market.
A supposedly locked-in seat at Mercedes became available, adding to the pre-existing vacancy at Red Bull for 2025.
Several driver switches have been hypothesised, and this will certainly continue in the coming months.
Amidst all of this, something that was never considered was that Max Verstappen might leave Red Bull.
The Dutchman has raced with the reigning Champions for almost a decade, and is amidst an historic run with the team.
Therefore, especially with the RB20’s early performance, a change in the status quo seemed unrealistic.
And frankly, the idea of Verstappen leaving Red Bull (especially given his multi-year deal) is still difficult to grasp.
What has changed in recent weeks, however, is the instability taking place within the Austrian team.
Whilst there have been rumours of a power struggle previously, 2024 has shown the true extent of the internal divisions.
This climate is generating a variety of seemingly outrageous propositions, including Max Verstappen joining the Silver Arrows.
Although this is almost difficult to imagine – let alone envision on track – this year has shown that anything can happen in Formula 1.
In addition, various key players in the sport are keeping their cards close to their chests.
Rather than dismissing these rumours, the likes of Toto Wolff and Helmut Marko have given responses that are very open to interpretation.
Russell addresses Verstappen to Mercedes speculation
In today’s driver press conference, George Russell was asked directly if Verstappen joining Mercedes is realistic:
“I think any team wants to have the best driver line-up possible.
“And right now, Max is the best driver on the grid.
“If any team had the 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.
“There’s so much going on there, we don’t know what truly is going on behind closed doors.
“And ultimately it’s none of our buisness, right now.”
In his usual diplomatic fashion, Russell quite expertly outlined the current dynamics of F1’s “silly season”.
The German manufacturer is still evaluating its options for the 2025 season.
Regardless of whether the Verstappen links are legitimate, it makes little sense for Mercedes to narrow their options.
As Red Bull continues to be rocked by instability (within a very open driver market), there is plenty of room for surprises this year.
