George Russell drops Max Verstappen bombshell as fate of two rivals confirmed | F1 | Sport

George Russell has confirmed that it was Kimi Antonelli at risk of losing his seat to Max Verstappen, rather than himself. Both the Brit and the four-time world champion are now secure in their whereabouts for 2026, although Mercedes are yet to agree on a new contract for their star driver.

Verstappen is contracted with Red Bull until the end of the 2028 season, but the Dutchman’s deal with the Milton Keynes squad is understood to contain performance clauses that would have facilitated a switch elsewhere. With Laurent Mekies’ team languishing in fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship standings, Toto Wolff spied an opportunity. The Mercedes boss went public with his pursuit of the 27-year-old, but ultimately, he decided to retain faith in the team that has overseen his Formula One development.

At the height of the speculation, it was assumed that a move for Verstappen would see Russell shuffled onto the sidelines, such has been Mercedes‘ investment into the future of Antonelli. However, ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, the Silver Arrows’ British star set the record straight.

Asked if his future was ever in doubt, he replied: “No, not at all, to be honest. It was more of a question of who my team-mate was going to be. I think I’m quite rational to how this sport works, and the team felt like they didn’t need to sign a deal.

“I didn’t really feel I needed to push it so much when it got to a certain point. I believe in myself more than ever. I’ve always believed in myself, and my results have always shown that. It’s not just the form of this year, but through my whole career since the age of 10 years old. So, yeah, if you back yourself and if you perform, you’ll never have anything to worry about.”

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While Russell’s future with Mercedes has been placed beyond doubt, the King’s Lynn-born racer is yet to agree to a new deal. He confirmed in Zandvoort that talks were placed on hold during the summer break and have now resumed. He is also chasing new clarification on his role and power within the organisation.

“Naturally, we wanted to take the summer off to sort of relax and reset, but [things are] positively moving in the right direction,” he told select media, including Express Sport. “But I think, as there is no time pressure from the team side and no time pressure from our side, we’re sort of just ensuring it’s done properly. Of course, you are sort of juggling priorities.

“It’s not like the world stops to sort of contract. We’ve got to worry about race weekends. We’re focusing on, you know, future development, already looking ahead to next year, sponsorship days. So things sometimes do take longer than you would anticipate, but as I say, they’re positively going in the right direction.”