“Why wouldn’t they want to sign Max?” For George Russell, it is a “totally understandable” situation if Mercedes wanted to sign Max Verstappen.

And it is not an idea which puts Russell on edge in the slightest, as on current form, he knows what he is bringing to the table for Mercedes.

Max Verstappen to Mercedes: Russell making his case to stay?

With Verstappen having won just one of the opening four grands prix in F1 2025 as he chases a fifth straight World Championship, the speculation over his future is doing the rounds again, with various scenarios put out there.

The talk is fuelled by a performance-related exit clause in Verstappen’s Red Bull contract which runs until the end of 2028, team principal Christian Horner previously confirming its existence to media including PlanetF1.com at the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix.

It has been reported that should Verstappen spend a significant part of F1 2025 outside the top three in the Drivers’ Championship, he would be free to trigger it. Verstappen currently sits P3.

And where Verstappen’s future lays in F1 has sparked various answers, from talk of joining Mercedes, to a $300million Aston Martin deal, to an F1 2026 sabbatical.

Or, he could remain at Red Bull, considering he re-affirmed his commitment to the team ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, where Horner confirmed that Verstappen would still be racing for them come F1 2026.

The Verstappen to Mercedes links are intriguing for the fact that neither Russell nor rookie team-mate Kimi Antonelli are currently contracted beyond the end of F1 2025, even if the indication from Russell and Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has been that this partnership will continue.

And, in an interview with PA news agency, Russell gave an honest assessment of this Verstappen to Mercedes talk.

“Why wouldn’t they want to sign Max? It’s totally understandable,” he stated.

“He’s the best at the moment. He’s a four-time World Champion. That’s not anything against me or Kimi. There’s two drivers for every team and he is one person.”

And Russell is confident that he is doing enough to cement his long-term Mercedes future, which could see him as Verstappen’s team-mate if the rumours were to ever turn into reality.

Russell has made the podium in three of the opening four grands prix this season, including nursing his Mercedes W16 plagued by electrical and braking issues to a season-best P2 last time out in Bahrain.

“So that doesn’t concern me one bit because the performance is my currency,” Russell continued on the Verstappen to Mercedes talk, “and right now I think I am performing as good as anyone on this grid.”

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But, while Russell is calm on his Mercedes future should a chance emerge for the team to sign Verstappen, Sky F1 commentator and pundit Martin Brundle is not so confident.

“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 Brundle.

“So there’s a lot of ifs in there.

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

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