Asserts that he would be thrilled to face Max Verstappen at Mercedes. Verstappen may be able to fill the void left by Lewis Hamilton’s pre-agreed move to Ferrari in 2025, albeit the current world champion is being tough on Toto Wolff.
Russell has competed against seven-time world champion Hamilton in two Mercedes seasons. He finished ahead of Hamilton in the 2022 Drivers’ Championship before falling short last year.
Russell is leading the Mercedes garage once again after five Grands Prix this season. And in the midst of rumours that a dominant Verstappen would join him in 2025, the 26-year-old has made it very clear that he believes he can win against anyone.
Russell responded, “I would be all for it,” before saying, “I think coming into Mercedes in 2022 was off the back of Lewis’s legendary years and victories, and that was a huge task for anybody jumping into a team where he’s been [dominating] for so long. I believe in myself, and you need to go up against the best in the same machinery and show what you’ve got.”
Wolff has made it known that, once Hamilton leaves for Maranello, he would like having Verstappen at Mercedes. And when Red Bull’s renowned chief technology officer, Adrian Newey, announced his resignation earlier this week, that gave him more chance of attracting the triple world champion.
At the beginning of the season, Verstappen would never have considered leaving the dominant Red Bull, but the stress around the Christian Horner story has made an escape possible.
Jos Verstappen’s father, who called for Horner to resign, had dinner with Wolff in March. However, the Red Bull athlete is sticking by his team in the public eye and declared before to this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix that he wouldn’t turn down a rich offer.
The Dutchman declared, “Right now, Red Bull is where I see my future.” “Let’s imagine that a €150 million [£128 million] contract ultimately materialises, but that kind of money won’t be the deciding factor for me to move anywhere.
“I’m happy with what I am earning, and it is about performance; even €250 million [£214 million] isn’t enough.” Everyone understands that it is always about performance, therefore I know that if I were driving for P5 or P6, I would become quite irritated. Toto is aware of that as well.”
