Martin Brundle thinks Mercedes driver George Russell has the same ‘advantage’ Max Verstappen has at Red Bull

Martin Brundle sees an ‘interesting factor’ for the 2025 drivers’ title as George Russell boasts the same ‘advantage’ as Max Verstappen unlike Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

The McLaren racers lock out the top two spots in the F1 drivers’ championship after the first four rounds of the season. Piastri winning the Bahrain Grand Prix from pole position jumped the Australian above Verstappen into second place with a mere three-point deficit to Norris.

Norris has led the standings since winning the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, to also dethrone Verstappen for the first time in 1,029 days. Yet the momentum has swung towards Piastri since the Melbourne native’s home round in March by outscoring Norris by 20 points.

Verstappen is third in the standings with an eight-point deficit to Norris ahead of this week’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and is just six ahead of Russell, as well. The Red Bull racer endured his worst weekend of 2025 yet in Bahrain in P6, where the Mercedes star took his best in P2.

George Russell has the same ‘advantage’ as Max Verstappen without a teammate who is also a constant rival

Russell tricked Norris to retain P2 in the Bahrain GP by feigning a defensive move into Turn 1 on the final lap, which tempted the McLaren racer to move to the outside. The 27-year-old’s day was also even more impressive as Russell dealt with major technical gremlins in Bahrain.

He has also finished three of the first four Grand Prix on the podium with his P3 in Australia and in China. And Brundle believes Russell’s results show he boasts the same ‘advantage’ at Mercedes that Verstappen has at Red Bull by not often being challenged by their teammate.

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Brundle told Sky Sports F1 (18/4, 14:06): “I think George has got an advantage, just as Max has got an advantage, [in that they are] not going to lose a lot of points to their teammate, whereas the two McLaren drivers are going to take points off each other. There’s no doubt about that. And that will be an interesting factor in the world championship.”

George Russell is the only 2025 F1 driver to finish every race so far in the top five

Norris saw it as a ‘huge advantage’ for McLaren to have two No1 drivers earlier this year, but has since seen Piastri become a bigger rival to edge within three points in the standings. Red Bull told Yuki Tsunoda that Verstappen is their No1 as soon as he earned Liam Lawson’s seat.

Russell has also adopted the team leader role at Mercedes given Lewis Hamilton defected to Ferrari with rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli joining for the 2025 F1 season. The 18-year-old has been impressive, and took P4 on debut in Australia, but has 30 points to Russell’s 63 to date.

Now, as the Briton’s career-best start to an F1 season continues, Russell is expected to sign a new two-year Mercedes contract worth $30m (£23m) a year. The deal would also include an option to stay in 2028, with Russell otherwise a free agent after the 2025 F1 season ends.

Such has been the King’s Lynn native’s confidence so far this year that Brundle feels Russell would back himself to be the ‘President of the World’, as well. Russell has finished each race this term including the Shanghai Sprint in the top five, a feat that no other driver can match.