George Russell takes no offence at speculation that Mercedes want to sign Max Verstappen, as that is what he would do if he were the team boss – but at Kimi Antonelli’s expense.

But the Italian shouldn’t take that too personally, as Russell would also drop Lewis Hamilton from the Ferrari line-up in favour of putting Verstappen in the car alongside Charles Leclerc.

George Russell’s F1 future has yet to be signed off

Mercedes’ F1 2026 driver line-up has yet to be decided with neither Russell nor Antonelli confirmed.

The team is believed to have an option on Antonelli, but Russell is a free agent at the end of this year, which has led to speculation he could be the driver dropped if, and it’s a big if, Verstappen becomes available.

“I think if Max Verstappen sprung into the marketplace, I would be quite worried for George, actually, because Kimi is obviously their man for the future,” said Sky F1’s Martin Brundle. “So there’s a lot of ifs in there.

“George is doing a great job for him as team leader, but Toto [Wolff] missed Max once, I don’t think that he’ll miss him a second time should he get the opportunity.”

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However, rather than be offended by talk that he could be dropped, Russell says he would support signing four-time World Champion Verstappen.

But that would be Antonelli’s expense in his dream line-up, not his.

Asked if he found the rumours linking Verstappen to Mercedes ‘disrespectful’, Russell told Mundo Deportivo: “Not really.

“No, because the fact is that there are two seats in a Formula 1 team. And I’ve already said that I’d be happy to be Verstappen’s team-mate.

“But the fact is: why wouldn’t a team want Verstappen?

“If I were Toto, and you had two options… If you could have any driver and all the drivers were available, I would choose myself and choose Verstappen. If I were in Toto’s shoes.

“So I don’t see it as disrespectful. That’s how the sport goes.”

But Antonelli shouldn’t feel bad about that, after all, Russell would even drop seven-time World Champion Hamilton from the Ferrari line-up to make room for Verstappen.

“And Ferrari, if it had a choice, would choose Verstappen and Leclerc,” he continued.

In fact, the only difficult choice amongst the top teams would be McLaren – Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri?

“McLaren would probably choose Verstappen and… here it would perhaps be more challenging: Norris or Piastri,” Russell said.

“But if by 2026, each team could choose its drivers, Verstappen would be the number one choice for all teams. So it’s not disrespectful. It’s just reality.”

A reality that Russell is convinced won’t be his.

Although he’ll line up on the grid at the Spanish Grand Prix, race nine of the F1 2025 championship, without a contract in place for next season, he trusts that it is only a matter of time before he and team principal Toto Wolff put pen to paper on an extension.

“There is trust,” he said of that. “I think the abnormal thing is to see Leclerc sign for five years, Lando sign for five years, Oscar sign for three years.

“Many of these drivers… Maybe I’ll forget a few names now, but many of these drivers have signed very long-term contracts with their team. That’s not normal.

“Mercedes has always had a focus on… I wouldn’t say that I work year after year, but for my part, not having signed doesn’t worry me at all. Because with or without a contract, if you perform, you are good, and if you do not perform, you are not good.

“There were drivers like Daniel Ricciardo, who had a contract, but he was left out. Checo Pérez had a contract and did not continue. Therefore, a contract means nothing in Formula 1.

“For me, when I’m a driver, I’m fast and I’m on the podium, that gives me more confidence than a piece of paper with a signature.”

However, for F1 2026 it’s not a decision based on this year’s performances, it’s a crystal ball guess with the sport putting all-new cars and engines on the grid.

The last time Formula 1 changed the engine formulae, Mercedes came to the fore. But the last time new cars were run, it was Red Bull who dominated.

No one knows how next season could pan out, it’s all guesswork and promises, but Russell is adamant he wants to walk that path with Mercedes.

“Yes, but McLaren also has our engine and now we are way behind McLaren. At the moment we are closer to Williams than to McLaren,” he said.

“So, of course, there’s a lot of positivity around our 2026 engine. But this is noise, not facts. Because how do you know what others will do?

“I know what Mercedes has. But I don’t know what Ferrari has. I don’t know what Red Bull has. So all this noise, it’s bullshit.

“Of course my intention is to continue with Mercedes. It’s where I want to be. And nothing would make me happier than winning with Mercedes. Above all, for the people. Because they are the ones who have worked so hard for us to recover and to win, and it is not easy.”

“But,” he added, “contracts in Formula 1 are overvalued.”

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