F1 insider Jolyon Palmer feels that George Russell’s performance levels this season have potentially blocked Max Verstappen’s move to Mercedes. The Dutch driver’s immediate future has continued to become a talking point in the sport, with the biggest question mark being whether he will see out his Red Bull contract.
The Dutch driver has a contract with the Austrian team until the end of the 2028 F1 season. But in F1, these long-term contracts come with exit clauses that are entirely based on car performance and championship standings. There have been rumors that if Max Verstappen drops to P3 in the standings, where he currently is, he can trigger an exit clause to leave the squad.
At the same time, the second question is, where should he go? If Red Bull is a team that he doesn’t expect to do well, which team would he expect to dominate in the next set of regulations from 2026 onwards? Mercedes is one team with which Max Verstappen’s name continues to be associated.
F1 insider Jolyon Palmer, however, feels that George Russell’s performances this season are acting as a potential stopping block because of the level at which the Brit is dragging Mercedes to impressive results, and it becomes harder for Mercedes to drop him for Max Verstappen. On the F1 Nation podcast, he said:
“It’s not going to happen that Max and George will be on the same team, is it? I don’t think so. That helps Kimi Antonelli again… But can you imagine, with the tensions they’ve had in the past? I know they play it down, but they’re not the best of friends. You have two type A drivers, and I don’t think Wolff would choose that as a driver pairing. I think Kimi… He has to perform well, but I think he’s the best second driver. In Japan it was good and in Bahrain it wasn’t bad either, except with the strategy.”
He added:
“Mercedes is the logical choice (for Verstappen ed.), but I think George is performing too well. Kimi is young and Mercedes has almost locked itself in. He is performing so well that you cannot say goodbye within a year. At the same time, George has put himself forward as team leader, so I don’t see it as an option.”
Verstappen is currently 14 points clear of Russell in the driver’s championship standings, with his Japanese GP win giving him the edge. Interestingly, rumours about a second team vying for the Red Bull ace’s signature have also been doing the rounds, and Palmer addressed those as well.
Palmer on probability of Max Verstappen moving to Aston Martin
Apart from Mercedes, the other offer on the table for the defending driver’s world champion at this stage belongs to Aston Martin. The Silverstone-based outfit has brought in some brilliant talent, but the biggest challenge has been putting together the results. Palmer felt that the lack of results from the squad might be something that dissuades Max Verstappen from leaping to the front. He said:
“The appeal of Aston Martin… It seems nonsense at the moment, but Adrian Newey is coming in. He’s had a great partnership with Verstappen and Honda, plus the new infrastructure. The new wind tunnel is fully functional and there are new regulations coming. What’s happening on track now, the terrible thing, theoretically has no impact on 2026. However, if you’re Max and you see Fernando Alonso on zero points after five races, I don’t know if he’ll support it.”
It will be interesting to see what’s next for Max Verstappen. The Red Bull driver would have to be very cautious about where he wants to take his career because his next step could make or break his next few years in the sport.
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Edited by Riddhiman Sarkar
