As fans and pundits wait to see how the F1 2026 line-up plays out, Jolyon Palmer has ruled out one potential partnership – Max Verstappen and George Russell.

Both Verstappen and Russell have been the subject of early-season driver rumours with the Dutchman once again linked to Mercedes while Russell is said to be closing in on a new $30 million extension with his current team.

Max Verstappen and George Russell in F1 2026?

Verstappen, though, could have the final say in that extension.

Neither Russell nor his team-mate Kimi Antonelli have a confirmed contract for next season, giving Mercedes two avenues should motorsport boss Toto Wolff decide to bring in Verstappen.

But if you ask former F1 driver Martin Brundle, it’s Russell who is the one who is under threat.

Although the Briton has been one of the stars of the F1 2025 championship, even billed as a candidate for the Drivers’ title as he flies under the radar, Brundle fears even Russell’s best may not be enough to stave off Verstappen.

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“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 the Sky F1 pundit.

“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.”

As for Russell, he made it clear last year in the midst of the ever-present Verstappen rumours that he would have no issue partnering the four-time World Champion despite their previous issues.

Last season Russell and Verstappen clashed off the track after qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix when the Dutchman accused the Briton of trying to throw him under the bus with the stewards, calling him a “backstabber”, while Russell labelled Verstappen a “bully”.

They also clashed in 2022 when Verstappen called Russell “Princess George” and “a dickhead” in a spat that the Mercedes driver deemed was a “little bit pathetic”.

“I don’t think there’s any pressure whatsoever,” he told BBC Sport. “All I need to do is continue doing what I’m doing, continue doing what I’ve done my whole career.

“So that changes nothing. And it’s not even something I’m thinking about. Because I 100 per cent back myself. It’s as simple as that. You perform and everything will be there for you.

“I want to go up against the best. I don’t feel that my ability is in question.”

But while Russell may be up for the challenge, a challenge that Christian Horner considers to be the hardest job in Formula 1, Palmer cannot see Verstappen and Russell at the same team – whether it’s at Mercedes or Red Bull.

“It’s not going to be Max and George in the same team, is it?” the former F1 driver told the F1 Nation podcast. “That’s not going to happen, I don’t think.

“Can you imagine it? With the tension that they’ve had in the past.

“I know they play it down, but they’re not the best of friends, they’re too sort of A-list drivers.

“I don’t think Toto’s choosing that as a line-up. I think Kimi [Antonelli] has to perform OK, but I think he is the nice, second driver.

“Japan was good, actually Bahrain wasn’t bad either, but he got stuffed on strategy.

“So, I think that’s an OK bit, and then you’ve got a harmonious lead driver.”

According to whispers in the paddock, Verstappen and Russell could make a straight swap in F1 2026 although Bernie Ecclestone believes Wolff would want to hold onto Russell and line him up alongside Verstappen.

That would, says the former F1 supremo, be the end for Antonelli.

“If Max were to go to Mercedes, the young Antonelli, who has been performing brilliantly so far, would probably have to go,” Ecclestone told Swiss-German publication Blick.

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