"I'd be all for it": George Russell's reply for having Max Verstappen as his Mercedes teammate 

George Russell welcomed the idea of Max Verstappen as a teammate at Mercedes for 2025 and beyond. Speaking to onsite media in Miami, the Briton was confident of being able to match the Dutch champion after two years as Lewis Hamilton’s teammate.

With several rumors linking Verstappen to Mercedes for 2025 or 2026 and beyond, George Russell has been interrogated about his future teammate on several occasions. At the moment, the Brackley team has junior driver Kimi Antonelli and the Dutch champion as a potential replacement for Hamilton. Outgoing Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz is also reported to have received a short-term offer from the Silver Arrows squad.

Verstappen has not been one of the closest contemporaries of George Russell, and the duo have clashed in the past. With Sergio Perez, the dynamic has been daily easy for the Red Bull champion, with 2022 being the only season where there was some tension.

However, with the Mercedes driver, it could be different. The former Williams driver has managed to outperform his multiple champion teammate in his debut season with Mercedes and is currently ahead in the drivers’ standings.

Asked about the potential scenario of having Verstappen as a teammate, George Russell said:

"I'd be all for it”

He added:

“You know, coming into Mercedes in 2022 off the back of Lewis's legendary years and victories, that was a huge task for anybody jumping into a team where he's been for so long. I believe in myself, and you need to go up against the best in the same machinery and show what you have got, so I feel that having Lewis as my team-mate for the past three years... He's been a hell of a team-mate, such a great driver. And we push each other every single week and I think it's fair to say that, so I will welcome Max, I want to go up against the best. Everybody wants to prove what they've got, so make it happen.”

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George Russell has faith in Mercedes and welcomed the idea of a potential Adrian Newey signing

George Russell believes that Mercedes still has the best technical personnel despite many getting poached by rival teams and the lack of Adrian Newey. With the 65-year-old aerodynamic veteran being linked with Mercedes and many other teams, the 25-year-old welcomed the idea.

Despite losing some key personnel in recent weeks, he felt that there was still a talented pool of people at the multiple championship winning team.

As reported by Racing News 365 George Russell commented on Newey's link to Mercedes saying:

“I mean, of course. You want to have the best engineers, the best drivers, the best mechanics, you want to have the best individuals [as] part of your team. But I think the team we have here, over the course of the last 12 years, the group of engineers that sit in the room next door are still the most successful engineers that Formula 1 has seen in the last 12 [or] 13 year

“Now we're going through a period where we're not achieving the success that the team once achieved a few years ago. But I have every faith in everybody, the people that won the championships, the new engineers and individuals who are part of this journey, to bring Mercedes back to the top.”

Mercedes have struggled to win or deliver competitive performances in the new aerodynamic era of the post. The last of their competitive best remains the 2021 season where Hamilton fought Verstappen.

With engine prowess being their forte, designing a sophisticated ground-effect car has not been their biggest achievement. They have struggled with the W13 and subsequently continue to struggle with the W15.

In the Constructors championship, they are currently fourth in the standings and have been beaten by customer team McLaren. With Aston Martin struggling with lesser performance issues than them, they are considered to be the third fastest Mercedes-powered car on the grid.

Despite upgrading the W15 in Miami, they were unable to turn around their performance woes and are scheduled for further updates in Imola. George Russell is seventh in the drivers standings followed by his senior teammate in ninth. But the Briton has been eclipsed by both McLaren drivers in the standings and is narrowly trailed by Fernando Alonso.