Worry expressed for George Russell’s Mercedes future despite bumper new contract

A scenario has been described which could spectacularly cost George Russell his Mercedes future.

Russell’s current Mercedes contract expires at the end of this season but he will reportedly pen lucrative new terms, in a clear show of faith from the team.

However, the ongoing doubt surrounding Max Verstappen’s future could have a knock-on effect.

“If Max Verstappen sprung into the marketplace I would be quite worried for George,” Martin Brundle told Sky Sports at the F1 Bahrain Grand Prix.

“Kimi Antonelli is obviously their man for the future.

“There’s a lot of ‘ifs’ in there.

“George is doing a great job for them as their team leader.

“But Toto Wolff missed Max once. I don’t think he’ll miss him a second time, should he get the opportunity.”

Would Mercedes jump to sign Max Verstappen?

Mercedes notoriously missed the chance to sign a teenage Verstappen before he was snapped up by Red Bull.

“Do I regret missing out on Max? Certainly,” Mercedes team principal Wolff admitted in 2023. 

“But it wasn’t an option back in the day.”

Wolff met Jos Verstappen in 2014 about his talented son. But Mercedes were in their heyday with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg at the time.

Red Bull moved swiftly to snap Verstappen up - and their decision paid dividends as they ended Mercedes’ era of dominance together.

Last year, Wolff again spoke about the possibility of signing Verstappen as a replacement for Ferrari-bound Hamilton.

That opportunity never came to fruition, despite the difficult period at Red Bull, so Wolff placed his faith in rookie Antonelli.

Some F1 insiders suggested that signing a rookie of Antonelli’s talent was a lesson learned after not picking up Verstappen.

Now a four-time F1 champion battling for a fifth this year, Verstappen’s future is again up for debate.

Helmut Marko has worryingly admitted that Red Bull could lose their top driver unless their struggling car finally finds some performance to match McLaren.

Ralf Schumacher has boldly predicted a deadline, which is fast approaching, for Verstappen to quit Red Bull.

Mercedes and Aston Martin would the obvious landing spots if Verstappen did choose to leave.

But the new contract which is reportedly on the table for Russell at Mercedes complicates matters.

Contracts for F1 drivers can mean very little when a team is intent upon a change but Mercedes have been clear in their faith in Russell, who was on the podium last weekend in Bahrain.

But would that change abruptly if Verstappen was available?