George Russell addresses Mercedes future after ‘seat not safe at all’ verdict

Mercedes’ George Russell

George Russell spoke of an “indefinite future” at Mercedes after Nico Rosberg claimed his seat with the Silver Arrows is “not safe at all”.

That claim came in regards to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff’s pursuit of Max Verstappen, though Mercedes has invested in the future by naming 18-year-old academy graduate Kimi Antonelli as the successor to seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton, who joins Ferrari from F1 2025.

George Russell Mercedes future not a topic of discussion

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher and Sam Cooper

And Rosberg – who claimed his sole World Championship with Mercedes in 2016 and retired soon after – does not believe the Verstappen to Mercedes prospect is done despite the team missing out on the reigning three-time World Champion for F1 2025.

Such a move, in Rosberg’s opinion, could spell trouble for Russell.

“George Russell is not safe at all because Toto still wants Max and he will try again for 2026 because ‘give up’ does not appear in Toto’s vocabulary,” said Sky F1 pundit Rosberg.

“If Max does become available – and I do think it’s a possibility – then it is a shootout between George and Kimi next year.

“And it’s a lot of pressure on George because he has everything to lose, really, next year.

“He should be the one ahead internally, because Kimi is 18 and he’s completely new and in a full-pressure situation.

“It’s not an easy situation there for George.”

However, Russell is not letting such thoughts enter his mind. As far as he is concerned, he is a Mercedes driver for the “indefinite future”.

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell head-to-head in F1 2024

F1 2024: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

F1 2024: Head-to-head qualifying record between team-mates

“It’s something we’ve not spoken about at all to be honest,” said Russell in regards to his Mercedes future when speaking to the media including PlanetF1.com, ahead of Antonelli’s confirmation.

“I’ve been with this team for so so long, I’m managed by Mercedes, and we’ve always said we will be continuing together for the indefinite future.

“There’s a lot of conversations going on which are quite entertaining to read, but from my side, I’m not focused on any of that. I’m just focused on my driving.”

Russell did recently receive a major boost, with Wolff confirming that the “flirting” with the Verstappen camp had stopped and that he was ready to go full steam ahead with the Russell and Antonelli pairing.

Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com at Monza about Verstappen, with the Antonelli F1 2025 deal signed and sealed, Wolff said: “What I appreciated in dealing with them [Verstappen’s team], it’s just very straightforward.

“I don’t flirt outside. I’ve always said it, I got maybe caught out by the Lewis situation, but I’ve not entertained any discussions with any drivers when giving it all from the team to make it a success.

“This is why all of our focus in the team is on George and Kimi, and that’s what I also said. There’s no discussion, there’s no second thoughts about what are doing in 2026, because now it’s about 2024 and 2025.

“If flirting outside happens, then these guys [Antonelli and Russell] will know it at the same time. When we have those discussions, I’ve always been very open.”

Russell currently sits P8 in the F1 2024 Drivers’ Championship standings, having claimed a win in Austria and a further podium in Canada where he started from pole.

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