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According to The Race, George Russell and Christian Horner have held exploratory talks eyeing a potential collaboration for the future with Max Verstappen rumours of a potential exit from the Austrian team looming overhead.
The Red Bull Team Principal and the Mercedes driver have thus far simply relayed each other’s situations with no tangible negotiations per se taking place as of yet.
Russell’s contract expires this season, and his plan, as he has stated many times before, is to remain with the Brackley-based outfit. Whilst Mercedes F1’s team boss and CEO, Toto Wolff, has lauded his driver time and time again, no contract has yet been offered for his now lead driver.
Wolff has always reffered to his driver line-up of Russell and Mercedes prodigy, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, as a more than satisfactory situation ‘at the moment’, never truly decanting his preference of his current driver line-up and closing the door on a potential Verstappen move to Mercedes.
It’s often suggested that Verstappen has a say in the choice of his teammate at Red Bull. The demotion of Liam Lawson to Racing Bulls, against Verstappen’s wishes, earlier this season was proof that this isn’t the case. Verstappen also wouldn’t oppose Russell’s arrival.
GPblog has learned that Verstappen is completely unconcerned about the scenario of Russell becoming his teammate at Red Bull. The Dutchman knows he’s the best driver on the grid and he – as he has done with previous teammates – will significantly outperform Russell, just as Verstappen demotes a teammate to a supporting role every year.
