Red Bull have kicked off the 2025 silly season with Yuki Tsunoda set to replace Liam Lawson, but Ralf Schumacher believes another driver is also ‘fighting for his future’.
The 2025 Formula 1 season is only two rounds old and yet Red Bull are set to make the first move in the driver market with Tsunoda and Lawson due to switch seats from the Japanese Grand Prix. Red Bull will send Lawson back to Racing Bulls after failing to adapt to the RB21.
It is a somewhat brutal move even by Red Bull’s standards to demote Lawson after only two Grands Prix with the Milton Keynes crew. Yet the Kiwi will not be alone in trying to prove his worth back in Faenza as one of six drivers due to be out of contract at the close of the term.
Ralf Schumacher thinks George Russell is ‘fighting for his future’ at Mercedes
Among the Formula 1 drivers on expiring contracts are both Mercedes stars, George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The Silver Arrows last handed Russell a new deal in August 2023, while Antonelli only penned a one-year deal to replace Lewis Hamilton at the Brackley crew.
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Russell has so far stepped up to his new role as Mercedes’ clear team leader with P3 finishes at the Australian and Chinese Grands Prix. Thanks also to his fourth-place finish in the Sprint in Shanghai, the 27-year-old ranks third in the F1 drivers’ championship with 35 points, too.
But as Mercedes continue to be linked with a move for Max Verstappen, Schumacher thinks Russell’s results are a sign of the Briton fighting for his place. He even feels Toto Wolff has ‘a luxury problem’ with Verstappen potentially an option along with Mercedes’ current drivers.
“For [Wolff], the question is, of course, what to do because he has two drivers who are close to his heart,” Schumacher told Sky Germany. “George Russell, who is currently fighting for his future – that’s clear, you can really tell – and also Kimi Antonelli, who he thinks highly of.”
Toto Wolff will not sacrifice George Russell lightly to sign Max Verstappen
Wolff tried to play down the potential of Verstappen quitting Red Bull and joining Mercedes when speaking with Sky Germany at the Chinese Grand Prix. But the Dutchman is becoming frustrated in Milton Keynes given Red Bull’s RB21 is not looking like a natural title challenger.
Should the chance arise for Wolff to tempt Verstappen to break out of his contract with Red Bull, Mercedes would have to sacrifice either Russell or Antonelli. Both drivers are products of the Silver Arrows’ academy but do not have certain futures with their contracts expiring.
Wolff will not cut Russell loose easily, though, as he believes greatly in the King’s Lynn racer. The Briton’s performance in Shanghai to get third – nearly P2 after McLaren’s Lando Norris’ late brake failure – saw Wolff hail Russell as a top-three driver on his way to being the best.
Russell has only won three Grands Prix and claimed pole position five times through his 130 entries, though. Adding to either tally in a year McLaren appear to clearly have the quickest car could go a long way to Russell showing Wolff why he merits a new contract at Mercedes.
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