George Russell is ‘not afraid’ of Max Verstappen and would relish the chance to be teammates with the Formula 1 champion, according to Sky Sports F1 presenter Simon Lazenby.
And Lazenby believes that Russell will get his wish, tipping Verstappen, who won Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix, to leave Red Bull for Mercedes in 2027.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has admitted he has held talks with the Dutchman who is under contract at Red Bull until 2028 and while there is a performance-related release clause, it cannot be triggered this year.
A move in the future has not been ruled out however, but one potential obstacle would be Russell who is set to sign a big-money deal with the Silver Arrows and has a tense rivalry with Verstappen, which came to a head in June when they collided in Spain.
But the British driver was interviewed for Lazenby’s new book Pressure, How the people who power Formula One thrive at the limits, and in it he firmly states: ‘I want to be teammates with Max Verstappen one day, to show what I can do.
‘All I know is that I back myself fully. I have been teammates with the greatest driver of all time, and I’ve shown what I am capable of. When you have been teammates with Lewis for three years, nothing scares you.’
Speaking exclusively to the Metro, Lazenby thinks it will happen, especially with Russell’s current teammate Kimi Antonelli struggling, and admits he is excited by the prospect:
‘We’re going to hear imminently that Mercedes are going to retain George. I’d be very surprised if it wasn’t Kimi and George signed up for 2026, but in 2027… I wonder if those words that he [Russell] said are quite prophetic.
‘You look at Antonelli and the struggles that he’s had, he’s still a rookie. They’ve invested so much in both George and Kimi but on the evidence of this year, when you look at how far George is ahead of Kimi, would you want to have Kimi, or do you want to have Max and George?
‘I know that Mercedes and Toto have always wanted to avoid how toxic it got between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton towards the end, but I think if it’s manageable… If they can manage it, right now it’s a no-brainer, it’s Max and George from 2027.
‘If Toto is courting Max and he’s determined to sign him… I know Red Bull have got him until 2028 but there are performance clauses that kind of get a bit narrower for next year. I can see that happening and how good would that be?’
Verstappen would be expected to come out on top in an intra-team battle but Lazenby is sure Russell would give him a run for his money, with Verstappen needing to adjust to a new team after spending his whole career with Red Bull.
‘Max is probably pound-for-pound the best driver on the grid but don’t underestimate George. He’s had such a good season this year in terms of letting his driving do the talking, you cannot argue with it.
‘He’s also mentally had the pressure of young Kimi coming in, what would happen? He just went right, bang, I’m on it. George is not afraid of him [Verstappen].
‘I think to see those two in equal machinery would be really, really interesting because I don’t think early on Max would necessarily have the car engineered the way that he likes it and it would be equal machinery to start with.
‘It’s a huge question. Let’s just watch this space. 2027, that lineup’s going to be the talking point all the way through the start of next year.’
Simon Lazenby’s new book Pressure, How the people who power Formula One thrive at the limits, is out on September 11.
‘There’s so much of a focus on the drivers and the team principals that you never really get to understand how the whole ecosystem works and how it’s interlinked,’ Lazenby says.
‘From the logistics to the photographers, the promoters, the engineers, performance coaches etc. It’s a group of remarkable individuals and just incredible human beings. A lot of them I’ve met along the way I’ve become friends with and I thought it’d be good to shine light on some of those unsung heroes and heroics.
‘Everyone has a fascinating story about how they arrived in the paddock and I wanted to highlight that it’s possible for people to get in. You don’t have to be a world-class engineer – it helps if you are – but there’s all these other different roles that you can be if you want to be in Formula 1.’
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