F1 Expert slams Mercedes over George Russell conduct: "Not a great way to treat your star driver"

Renowned F1 expert, Peter Windsor, slammed Mercedes for pursuing Max Verstappen despite having George Russell in their team. Windsor, in his recent interview, criticised Toto Wolff and his team and how they 'treated' Russell while pursuing Verstappen of Red Bull Racing.

According to multiple reports, Wolff pursued Verstappen to bring him from Red Bull in 2026. The reports surfaced after the Dutch driver became unhappy with how the RB21 showed no signs of improvement, and he was moving away from the championship battle gradually.

With no clear future of the car improvement in sight, Verstappen was reportedly interested in triggering the exit clause from Red Bull and moving elsewhere, specifically to Mercedes. The team in question, the Silver Arrows, was not only doing better coming into 2025 but also had a promising prospect in 2026.

As a result, Verstappen's link to Mercedes turned out to be inevitable as the team principal, Toto Wolff, had an immense interest in the Dutchman. However, the move did not materialize in the end, as Verstappen remained in Red Bull, while Mercedes is likely to retain George Russell.

Interestingly, this was something that upset Peter Windsor, as he called out Toto Wolff's team. He was of the opinion that Wolff should not have gone after Verstappen when they had Russell in the team.

Speaking about this, here's what Windsor said in the recent interview with Cameron Cc on YouTube:

"Mercedes shouldn't have unsettled George by having all that so-called discussion with Max. I mean, it's not a great way to treat your star driver who's done a really good job for Mercedes over the last two or three years." (3:11 onwards)

Admittedly, Russell was thoroughly consistent with his performance in Mercedes in the last three years, as he beat his then-teammate, Lewis Hamilton, twice in three years.

George Russell joined Mercedes in 2022 as he arrived from Williams to race alongside Lewis Hamilton. 2025 is his fourth year in the team, and he is yet to sign a contract extension.

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How is George Russell performing in 2025?

George Russell of Mercedes after the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix at Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary - Source: Getty

George Russell is currently in P4 in the Drivers' Championship with 172 points after 14 races and three Sprints. He is trailing McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

He claimed a win (Canadian GP) and took five podiums (Australia, China, Bahrain, Miami, and Hungary). Currently, he is the de facto team leader of Mercedes after Hamilton's departure to Ferrari.

Russell welcomed rookie Kimi Antonelli to the team, who has a multi-year contract with the Silver Arrows. Now, it will be interesting to see how long it takes for Russell to receive his contract extension.