I don't think I'll be going anywhere
George Russell says he "doesn't think I'll be going anywhere" amid links between his Mercedes team and four-time world champion Max Verstappen.Mercedes have talked to Verstappen's management about the possibility of the Dutchman joining them from Red Bull next year.The 27-year-old Briton is out of contract with Mercedes at the end of this season.Speaking at Silverstone on Thursday before this weekend's British Grand Prix, Russell said: "The likelihood I'm not at Mercedes next year, I think, is exceptionally low."Verstappen, who is contracted to Red Bull until the end of 2028 but is said to have contractual mechanisms which could enable him to leave, said he had "nothing to add" on the situation."There is no decision at the moment," he said. "For me, it's not about '26 or whatever."I just focus on what I have ahead of me, work with the team. And of course a lot of people make up assumptions, but that's not me."
At last weekend's Austrian Grand Prix, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said it was likelier that Russell would be at the team next season than Verstappen, but did not deny he was speaking to the world champion's representatives. Russell said: "I don't take that personally because I made it clear from the beginning. I'm happy to be team-mates with anybody."I want to continue with Mercedes into the future. The fact is, Toto has never let me down. He's always given me his word, but he's also got to do what's right for his team, which includes me. But it also includes the thousands of people who work for Mercedes."For me, it's nothing to worry about because I don't think I'll be going anywhere. And whoever my team-mate will be, it doesn't concern me either."I know where their loyalty lies. It doesn't need to be public. It doesn't need to be broadcast to everybody."I feel I'm performing better than ever. And it's as simple as that really. Performance speaks for everything."Russell is fourth in the drivers' championship, nine points behind Verstappen, and won last month's Canadian Grand Prix.Williams driver Alex Albon, who is a friend of Russell and a former team-mate of Verstappen, pointed to Russell's performance as team-mate to Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes for three years, as well as the fact he has convincingly been ahead of his new team-mate Kimi Antonelli this season.Albon said in a BBC Sport interview: "George is somehow underrated. I'm not just defending a friend here, but I don't know a driver who can beat a seven-time world champion and be not sure of a seat."He's doing a fantastic year this year as well."And as much as Kimi's getting praise, George is still beating him pretty convincingly. So I guess you can sound me standing up for a friend of mine. But even if he wasn't my friend, I'd still be saying the same words."I just hope the delay's coming from him asking for a lot of money. And if he is, he deserves it."Otherwise, George is actually one of the most adaptable drivers on the grid. And wherever it ends up being, I think he should be considered as at the very least a top-three driver on the grid."
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The Guardian
7 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Max Verstappen snatches F1 British GP pole for Red Bull from McLarens
Max Verstappen claimed pole for the British Grand Prix for Red Bull, a blistering run beating the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris into second and third. Mercedes's George Russell was fourth, with Lewis Hamilton very much in the mix, taking fifth for Ferrari. The pole was somewhat against odds for Verstappen, who absolutely wrung the neck of the Red Bull to beat a very strong assault from both McLaren and an improved Ferrari. The world champion has not been particularly happy with his car all weekend, having struggled with its balance all season. With the team using a trimmed back low-downforce configuration at Silverstone, it required every bit of his considerable skill to wrangle across the old airfield. As he has demonstrated previously this season, sometimes he can be the ultimate differentiator. It was a salutary reminder of quite why there is so much interest in his future, with Mercedes considering him again and Red Bull just as anxious to hang on to their prized asset. With Red Bull having brought what is likely to be their last major upgrade of the season to the last race in Austria with a revision to the floor of the car hoped to help address the balance issues that have plagued it all year, they will be buoyed that this time out they had the advantage over McLaren, at least in Verstappen's mercurial hands. The team have been honest in that no quick fix was expected to the problems with a disconnect between wind-tunnel predictions and real-world performance at the heart of their inability to solve the problems but Verstappen enjoyed his lap at Silverstone perhaps more than many of late to take his fourth pole of the year and his first since Miami, six races ago. Verstappen opened the running in Q3, taking the top spot, but was swiftly eclipsed by Piastri, who set a time of 1min 24.995sec. Norris followed but could not quite hook it up and was just under two-tenths back, while Hamilton was enjoying his best qualifying of the season to grab second place just over one-tenth back from Piastri, with Verstappen fourth. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion The final laps would prove decisive and were a suitably tense affair. Norris went out first and pushed hard but did not improve enough over Piastri, while Hamilton set a superb first sector but was unable to quite make the difference. However, behind them Verstappen was flying, putting together what was his best lap of the session when it really mattered. Hammering it to the very limit, he took the top spot with a time of 1:24.892, a full tenth up on Piastri and Norris. Ollie Bearman was in eighth place for Haas but has a 10-place grid penalty for failing to slow under a red flag in third practice. Kimi Antonelli was seventh but has a three-place penalty for his crash with Verstappen in Austria. 1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1min 24.892sec 2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 1:24.995 3. Lando Norris (McLaren) 1:25.010 4. George Russell (Mercedes) 1:25.029 5. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) 1:25.095 6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 1:25.121 7. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes, three-place grid penalty) 1:25.374 8. Oliver Bearman (Haas, 10-place grid penalty) 1:25.471 9. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) 1:25.621 10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) 1:25.785 Q2 11. Carlos Sainz (Williams) 1:25.746 12. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) 1:25.826 13. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) 1:25.864 14. Alex Albon (Williams) 1:25.889 15. Esteban Ocon (Haas) 1:25.950 Q1 16. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) 1:26.440 17. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) 1:26.446 18. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) 1:26.504 19. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) 1:26.574 20. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) 1:27.060
Daily Mail
11 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Max Verstappen produces stunning lap to claim pole for British Grand Prix with home hero Lewis Hamilton fifth and Lando Norris on the second row
Max Verstappen produced a stunning final run to claim a surprise pole position for Sunday's British Grand Prix. The Dutchman had been struggling with the handling of his Red Bull during practice, but pulled together a perfect lap when it mattered most, as he so often has during his career. 'It was tricky out there with the wind,' explained Verstappen, who yesterday told Mail Sport he wanted to stay with Red Bull 'for ever'. 'Around here with these cars, it's extremely sensitive to it. 'That final lap was good enough but this is a proper track, qualifying when you have to go flat out. 'We're quite quick on the straight which is not easy to manage in the high-speed corners. I'm happy of course with our pole in qualifying, it's a big boost for the team.' Verstappen will start tomorrow's race ahead of Championship pace-setter Oscar Piastri, who was a tenth of second slower than the four-time world champion. Piastri's team-mate Lando Norris is one spot further back in third with George Russell completing the second row for Mercedes. Asked whether he would be able to keep the McLaren pair behind him on race day, Verstappen said: 'Difficult to say but we'll try. We're going to go racing.' A promising start for the weekend for Ferrari threatens to amount to little more than a false dawn for Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. Hamilton's pace has been impressive around his home circuit, where he has claimed more race victories than any other driver, all weekend, but he struggled during qualifying. It was a much better session for Oliver Bearman, but the British rookie's day was spoiled by a costly error in final practice on Friday morning. Bearman carried too much speed into the pit lane and lost control of his Haas, spinning off the track and into the barrier, losing his front wing in the process. With the incident occuring under red flag conditions following an earlier spin from Gabriel Bortoleto, the stewards came down hard on Bearman, slapping him with a 10-place grid penalty for tomorrow's race. As a result Bearman, who posted the eighth-quickest qualifying time, will start his first home race in Formula One way down in 18th.
The Herald Scotland
13 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Max Verstappen spoils the British party by taking pole at Silverstone
George Russell took fourth for Mercedes, one place ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who had dared to dream of a first pole position for Ferrari, but ended up two tenths off the pace. Charles Leclerc qualified sixth in the other Ferrari. Lando Norris was unable to take pole at his home race (Andrew Matthews/PA) Verstappen was only fourth after the opening runs in Q3 at a gusty and overcast Silverstone, and complained his Red Bull was difficult to drive. However, when it mattered most the four-time world champion came from nowhere to take top spot – his first pole since Miami at the beginning of May. 'Simply lovely,' he said over the radio and then added: 'That final lap was good enough. This is a proper track in qualifying where you have to go flat out. 'It is a big boost for the team as well and excited to go racing tomorrow. We are going to go racing, we will do the best we can.' Norris said: 'Not the top but still a good day. It's going to be fun tomorrow, a good battle. It's going to be an interesting Sunday so I'm looking forward to it.' How did Max do that? 👏 — Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 5, 2025 Norris starts his home race 15 points behind Piastri in the world championship, and he will have to force himself ahead of his team-mate to prevent the Australian from extending his title advantage. Hamilton is the King of Silverstone, winning a record nine times and finishing on the podium in all of his last 11 appearances here. He heads into Sunday's British Grand Prix without a top-three finish to his name in Ferrari colours but that could change following a strong performance – out-qualifying Leclerc for just the fourth time this year – although he might feel disappointed not to be nearer the front after heading into the final runs in Q3 in second. British rookie Ollie Bearman will line up from 18th for his first home race after he was served with a 10-place grid penalty for crashing in the pit-lane. Bearman was also sanctioned with four penalty points after he entered the pits at 160mph during a red-flag period in the final practice session. The punishment leaves Bearman, who actually qualified an impressive eighth, on just eight points from the first 12 rounds of his career, leaving him only four away from a race ban. Lewis Hamilton dared to dream of pole (Bradley Collyer/PA) Q1 was suspended for 10 minutes after Franco Colapinto spun at the final corner. Colapinto hit the kerb sending him sideways and through the gravel and then gently into the wall. The Argentine was able to limp out of the sand trap but the running was red-flagged following repairs to the barriers.
