Interview with George Russell: ‘There’s no bull—t with Max – I wouldn’t be afraid of him at Mercedes’

‘So George, how will it feel to play against Max Verstappen at Mercedes next year?’ The question is asked ironically to George Russell. Yeah, sort of. If the drama currently engulfing Red Bull doesn’t go away soon, who knows what will happen next. But after a brief smile to show that he appreciates the spirit in which the question was intended, Russell gives a serious answer, as he always does.

“Of course I respect Max,” he says. “I respect all drivers. As I said last week in Bahrain, I now have the best driver of all time at my side as this is my third year with Mercedes.

“Max is certainly one of them. Just like Fernando [Alonso, another driver who has been linked with Lewis Hamilton’s seat once the seven-time world champion departs for Ferrari next year].

“But I’m happy with who’s next to me, because when I walk into the garage, I don’t look to the other side. I look at my garage, my team, my crew and I work on myself. I believe in myself. I believe I can beat anyone. So yeah, for my part I’m pretty relaxed.

It’s a similar response to Russell’s at Wednesday’s FIA press conference in Jeddah: clearly rehearsed, inoffensive, backing himself and paying respect to his rivals. But I’m not going to let him get away that easily.

Verstappen is perhaps the fastest driver of this or any generation. He also comes with significant baggage. His father Jos, who attends most of his flights, is no shrinking violet. Together they pose a formidable challenge. Both have a fiery temper when pushed. Would Russell really welcome that at Brackley, just when it looked like he would be the ‘senior’ statesman in a new partnership?

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Russell doesn’t miss a second. “Absolutely,” he emphasizes. “Max is very simple. There’s no bull—t with Max. Obviously we had a bit of a get-together in Baku last year, but we laughed about it afterwards. There is no problem at all.”

That ‘coming together’ was one of the more competitive moments in a season of complete Red Bull dominance. Russell, who had the inside of a corner on the opening lap of the sprint race in Azerbaijan, took a large chunk out of Verstappen’s sidepod as they fought for position. Afterwards, a furious Verstappen took on the Brit in the parc ferme and called him a “d——-”. But Russell refused to back down. As he said at the time: “I’m here to fight, I’m here to win. I’m not just going to wave past him because he’s Max Verstappen in a Red Bull.”

But he didn’t take off his helmet, did he? Was that in case Verstappen took him out?

“Haha, I learned from experience,” says Russell, laughing.

There’s no doubt that Russell is in a good place right now. At 26, he should be at his peak and entering his third season at Mercedes. He has experience facing and beating (at least in their first season together) a multi-time world champion. He has increasing confidence in his own technical insight. He has a strong relationship with his team boss Toto Wolff.

Hamilton, asked in Bahrain whether Russell could lead the team if he were gone, gave what felt at the time like some slightly backhanded compliments, describing the younger man as “very technical” and “incredibly close to Toto’.

But Russell doesn’t dispute either point. He reveals at the start of our conversation that he spent the days between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in Dubai with the Wolffs, playing padel with Toto’s wife Susie, his girlfriend Carmen and his trainer Aleix Casanovas. “Everyone loves padel these days,” he says.

All in all, he says, he feels in the perfect place. “Really and truly. I mean, I look back to when Lewis joined Mercedes, how old was he? 27-28? I will be that age when we introduce the new regulations in 2026.”

For now, Russell is keen to put his head down and try to get the most out of his Mercedes here in Jeddah. But due to engine cooling problems, he would have fought Sergio Pérez for second place in Bahrain last week. That gives him confidence for the rest of the season.

“We know that in Bahrain alone there was a guaranteed loss of 15 seconds in power,” he reasons. “And that is pure power. This doesn’t take into account the effect the problem had on our tyres, or the need to drive too fast to defend at certain points. Without a doubt we could have fought for second place.”

Russell is less confident in Verstappen’s challenge this year. “Oh yes, the championship still goes to Max and Red Bull,” he says.

Will it be closer than last year? Russell predicted twelve months ago at the season opener in Bahrain that Red Bull could win every race. “I was only one off,” he notes.

This year he predicts there will be “more race winners just because there are five competitive teams.” But, he adds, Verstappen’s speed advantage is so great that he can afford to prepare his car for the race every weekend and still qualify at or near the front of the grid. Other teams don’t enjoy that luxury. “If we give up two tenths on Saturday we might lose six places on the grid,” he says.

But in the long run, Russell says he’s confident he’s in the right place. “Absolutely. Heading into 2026, Mercedes, with the new power unit, is in such a strong position. Probably next to Ferrari, to be honest. In that respect they are probably the two powers. And you know, by then “I’m entering my fifth season with Mercedes. So yes, I feel in a great place. Whoever comes next year, I don’t see that changing.”

Even if it is Verstappen? Perhaps the world champion, like Russell, is betting that Mercedes is the best bet for 2026. Perhaps if things don’t resolve themselves between Jos and Christian Horner, he will jump ship, if not next year then the one after that? Russell laughs again.

“When I moved to Mercedes I started working with Lewis, who was in his eighth year. And he had won six of those championships in eight years, which is more success than Max has had at Red Bull.

“But I wasn’t afraid of it at all. I enjoyed the challenge a bit and I proved myself against Lewis. So, you know, I’m not afraid to jump in a car next to another driver because I feel like what I did was probably the hardest thing a driver could do.