George Russell Heads Into Home British GP Haunted By Max Verstappen Rumours
If he wins, and overhauls Verstappen in the drivers' title race, he may in so doing allow the Dutchman, also 27, to trigger an exit clause in his Red Bull contract, which is due to run to 2028.
It is widely believed that if Verstappen is not in the top three in the championship at the end of July –- with a realistic chance of claiming a fifth crown -– he can seal a move elsewhere, a prospect given impetus on Wednesday by reports claiming he has already said yes to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
Ahead of Sunday's race, Verstappen is third on 155 points and Russell fourth on 146.
According to Sky Sport Italia, Verstappen and Wolff have held "concrete negotiations" which resulted in the Dutchman giving his consent. No details were given and the story was not confirmed.
However, as veteran British commentator and former F1 driver Martin Brundle, a close confidante of Russell, suggested: "There's no smoke without fire."
He added Russell was "nervous and ringing around a little bit". "Something is up," Brundle told Sky Sports F1.
- 'Sadistic' -
Russell is sure to gain widespread sympathy and support from a big Silverstone crowd -– 500,000 are expected over the four days -- who will back fellow-Britons Lando Norris of McLaren and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari, hoping one of them triumphs to ignite celebrations.
The end of a fierce heatwave may assist Mercedes and Russell, who struggle in high temperatures, to find the form that carried him to victory in Canada, but he knows even that may not be enough to persuade Wolff if Verstappen finds an exit from his contract.
Wolff was coy in Austria last weekend. "You need to be respectful towards the stakeholders in that process -– the organisation, the drivers… everybody. You need to understand the way forward," he said.
"I don't want to be sadistic in letting a driver wait or not taking any decisions when it should be taken."
For Russell, should he not be offered a new contract after three years with the Silver Arrows, there are few openings and the only top-level vacancy may be as Verstappen's successor at Red Bull.
All this will only add spice to a weekend that may be dominated by the McLaren duo of championship leader Oscar Piastri and Norris, who will have the backing of 10,000 fans in a grandstand named after him as he seeks to overhaul a 15-point deficit at the top of the standings.
The pair dominated last Sunday's Austrian race to record their fourth 1-2 of the year, and will be chasing a first Silverstone win for McLaren since Hamilton in 2008.
Norris claimed victory last Sunday, but Piastri led him home for the other three 1-2s and has won five races this year.
"It's my favourite weekend of the year," said Norris. "To have my family, friends, home fans and so many of the team there supporting us takes it to another level."
Hamilton, driving a Ferrari on home asphalt for the first time, will also hope to rouse emotions as the Italian team seek to build on an improved finish last weekend thanks to an upgraded floor.
After claiming a stunning record ninth home win last year, he will hope for at least his first podium of the season having finished fourth behind team-mate Charles Leclerc and the two McLarens in Austria.
Last year, his win broke a run of 52 races without a victory and was one of the most famous of his record total of 105.
str/nf
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
22 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Wimbledon: No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka holds off home favorite Emma Raducanu at Centre Court
LONDON: Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staved off an upset bid by resurgent Emma Raducanu at Wimbledon by beating the home favorite 7-6 (6), 6-4 in the third-round at a raucous Centre Court on Friday night. Sabalenka, a two-time semifinalist at the All England Club, fought back in both sets against the the 2021 U.S. Open champion, who had been playing some of her best tennis since her title run at Flushing Meadows as a qualifier at age 18. In a 74-minute first set, Sabalenka converted her eighth set point, which came 30 minutes after the first. Raducanu went up 4-2, only to see Sabalenka reel off 11 of 12 points during one stretch while moving out front by a 5-4 score. Then arrived an epic game, lasting 13 minutes and containing 22 points, eight deuces, and seven set points for Sabalenka — all ending with Raducanu holding serve. Then, Raducanu had a set point while leading 6-5 in the tiebreaker, but Sabalenka saved it with a drop-shot winner and took the last three points of the set — ending it with a volley winner. The fans provided extra energy for the British player, cheering wildly when Raducanu fired winners and exhaling 'aww!' when she missed.
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Motor racing-Sport goes in cycles, says Horner, as Verstappen rumours grow
* Motor racing-Sport goes in cycles, says Horner, as Verstappen rumours grow Horner confirms Verstappen has performance clauses * F1 going into 'transformational year' * Red Bull building towards next cycle By Alan Baldwin SILVERSTONE, England, - Max Verstappen has a contract with Red Bull to 2028 but the chances of the four-times Formula One world champion seeing it out are looking increasingly slim with team boss Christian Horner accepting next year, if not this, could be make or break. Speaking at the British Grand Prix, Horner confirmed the existence of performance-related clauses that the sport's most sought-after driver can activate to leave early. While Verstappen might be able to trigger them in a matter of weeks, according to some sources, it would be a gamble with a major chassis and engine change the biggest for decades coming in 2026. One popular view in the paddock, despite constant speculation about a move to Mercedes, is that the Dutch 27-year-old is more likely to wait and see which way the wind is blowing before deciding for 2027. "2026 is going to be a transformational year. It's the biggest rule change in Formula One probably in the last 50 years where both chassis and power unit are being introduced at the same time," said Horner. "Nobody, with hand on heart, can know what the pecking order is going to be... It could be Ferrari. It could be Mercedes. It could be anyone. "It'll only be really this time next year that you'll have a clear indication of what that pecking order is. So, there are no guarantees that jumping into a Mercedes car would automatically be a better proposition." VETTEL EXAMPLE That said, and despite claiming Verstappen wanted to see out his career at Red Bull, Horner offered a history lesson to illustrate that Red Bull was prepared for change regardless. He recalled how Sebastian Vettel, another four-times Red Bull world champion, had joined Ferrari a year after a major rule change in 2014 had begun an era of Mercedes domination and Red Bull struggled with an uncompetitive Renault engine. "I remember Dietrich Mateschitz telling me at the time 'We don't need the best driver if we don't have the best car'," said Horner. "At that stage, it was about building a team... things go in cycles and sport goes in cycles." Red Bull seem to be already in just such a cycle, their 2023 domination slipping away last year along with design genius Adrian Newey, now at Aston Martin. The Honda engines are going the same way from 2026. Highly influential engineering head Rob Marshall is at champions McLaren while Red Bull's veteran consultant Helmut Marko is 82. Vettel has already been mentioned as a possible replacement. Horner's own position has been questioned, with Verstappen's father calling last year for him to go after allegations of misconduct were made by a female employee. The Briton denied them and was cleared after an investigation. "We've had two incredibly successful cycles in Formula One, and what we want to do is build towards the next cycle," said Horner, who also sang the praises of 17-year-old talent Arvid Lindblad. "Now, of course, we want that to be with Max, but we understand the pressure that there is next year, with us coming in as a new power unit manufacturer. The challenge of that is enormous." Red Bull are building their own engine, bringing everything under one roof in a bold move against major manufacturers with vast resources and years of experience in the field. "To expect us to be ahead of Mercedes next year... it would be embarrassing for Mercedes if we were, or for any manufacturer," said Horner. "But I think we're going to be in a competitive position, potentially even to where we are today relative to our other PU manufacturers. There's everything to play for." How long Verstappen stays for the ride remains to be seen. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
The Hindu
5 hours ago
- The Hindu
Wimbledon 2025: Raducanu frustrated by racket tension problem in loss to Sabalenka
Emma Raducanu expressed frustration with having to get a couple of her rackets re-strung during her third-round loss to top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon on Friday. The British player let leads slip in both sets of her 7-6 (6), 6-4 loss at Centre Court with the retractable roof closed. 'I felt like the ball was flying. I had all my rackets strung up fresh for the match, and it just felt like it was pinging completely different,' Raducanu said. 'It could have been a little bit because the roof was on. I sent a couple rackets to be re-strung. But it takes, like, 20 minutes by the time they turn it over. Still, it was a bit difficult. So, I'm frustrated with that part maybe, small details. But I don't think I could have made different choices. I think I should have just executed better.' Sabalenka agreed 'the balls were flying more', she suspected, because of higher humidity with the roof closed. The three-time Grand Slam champion said her team typically has extra rackets ready. 'They always have like two extra rackets with the higher tension and two extra rackets with lower tension. They prepare it. You don't have to wait for another racket,' Sabalenka said. Sabalenka said she lost in the 2023 French Open semifinals to Karolina Muchova 'because I didn't have racket' with the right tension. 'We weren't prepared. I didn't have a right tension. I had to play with a lower tension. I didn't control the ball, didn't feel well,' she said. 'After that experience,' she continued, 'we learned it's four extra rackets in my team's bag just in case. You never know. You can wake up and feel great with one tension. Another day you wake up and you don't feel at all. You got to be prepared.'
