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Sky Sports pundit Martin Brundle has highlighted that there are a 'lot of ifs' with regards to Max Verstappen's future, as he gave his verdict on George Russell's rumored new contract at Mercedes. The Briton claimed that Toto Wolff would not miss another opportunity to let Verstappen go, if the Dutchman happened to be on the market.
The past week has been riddled with reports about Max Verstappen's future at Red Bull Racing, after the Dutch driver's horrendous outing at the Bahrain GP. This has coincided with reports suggesting that George Russell may be signing a contract extension at Mercedes soon, potentially closing one of the doors available to Verstappen in the future.
Speaking to Sky Sports in Bahrain last week, former F1 driver and pundit Martin Brundle mentioned that even though Russell is doing a commendable job at the Silver Arrows, he feels team boss Toto Wolff wouldn't miss the opportunity to have the 4x world champion in his team. If that move was to materialize in the future, it would be Russell making the way and not Kimi Antonelli, according to Brundle. He said:
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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. 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.”
The instance Brundle is referring to here, is from back in 2013, when Toto Wolff missed an opportunity to sign Verstappen, after having met with him and his father, Jos, to discuss a potential move. But the move did not materialize, and Wolff has since even admitted that he regrets not having signed the driver who has now become one of the most successful athletes in F1 history.
Martin Brundle claims George Russell's drive in Bahrain was 'very timely' amid Max Verstappen exit rumors
Martin Brundle has claimed that George Russell's brilliant drive at Bahrain came at a good time for the Briton, amid rumors of a potential Max Verstappen exit from Red Bull. The pundit explained that the performance would help Russell in securing the contract extension at Mercedes that he is currently after.
Brundle, writing in his Sky Sports F1 column, mentioned that Lando Norris should have finished in P2 at Sakhir last weekend, but also added:
"George Russell in an ailing Mercedes had other ideas though, and drove around fundamental braking and electrical issues brilliantly to hang on. Having made a great start too, this was surely one of his finest F1 drives." [via PlanetF1]
“Very timely too as he looks for a new contract with the team for 2026 and beyond, especially given paddock talk about Max Verstappen being in the marketplace.”
As previously mentioned, paddock rumors have intensified with regards to Russell's contract at Mercedes this week. If reports are to be believed, the 27-year-old Briton is all set to sign a two-year extension to his contract, with an option for a further year, on a rumored $30 million salary.
