With all sorts of speculation about what may happen at Red Bull as the fallout from Christian Horner’s Red Bull GmbH investigation continues, one rumour that’s emerged is that Max Verstappen could be a possibility to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes when the seat is vacated for 2025.
George Russell: I welcome anybody and I welcome the challenge
George Russell, who remains at Mercedes and has the backing of the team to rise to the challenge of leading the team when Hamilton departs, was asked about the possibility of Verstappen making the shock move to Brackley from Milton Keynes.
With Russell and Verstappen having had a minor spat during last season during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend, the British driver was asked how he’d feel about the Dutch driver moving to become his teammate.
“As I said last week in Bahrain, 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, saying he doesn’t fear the prospect of the three-time F1 World Champion moving alongside him.
“So whoever were to line up alongside me next year or the years to come, I welcome anybody and welcome the challenge.
“You always want to go against the best but, ultimately for me, I just focus on myself. I believe in myself.
“I believe I can beat anybody on the grid. You’ve just got to have that mentality.
“Having Lewis as my benchmark for the last couple of years has been a pretty good benchmark for sure.”
Russell stated that if Verstappen were interested in moving to Mercedes, no team on the grid would turn down the talent, even if it is still doubtful that he would do so.
He acknowledged, “I think every team wants to have the best driver lineup possible, and yeah, Max is the best driver on the grid right now.”
Russell stated that there is probably a greater chance of a Verstappen switch on Verstappen’s side than Mercedes’, in response to Toto Wolff’s cheeky remark that “Anything is possible” regarding a Verstappen switch.
He declared, “Any team that had the opportunity to sign Max, they would sign him without a doubt.”
