Russell: My Mercedes Seat Never Felt Threatened by Verstappen

George Russell has asserted that his place in the Mercedes team was never under threat from Max Verstappen, prior to the Dutchman finalizing his contract extension with Red Bull. Verstappen had been frequently linked with a move to Mercedes following Lewis Hamilton's announcement of his departure for Ferrari in 2024.

Initially, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff seemed to be considering Verstappen as a teammate for Russell. However, recent speculation suggested the four-time world champion might be a replacement for Russell himself, given the strong performance of his current teammate, Kimi Antonelli, who leads the Drivers' Championship.

Following Red Bull's official announcement on Thursday, confirming Verstappen's commitment to the team until 2030 ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, Russell indicated that the discussions between Mercedes and Verstappen's camp over the past couple of years might have been overstated.

"It was only really a topic for us when we were sitting in front of you guys in the press and you wanted to ask these questions and understand what was going on," Russell commented. "It was always very clear from within Mercedes what the reality was over these past couple of years. Maybe those conversations were slightly more public than the conversations his team were having with the likes of McLaren, or Ferrari, or whoever else it may have been.

"That's just the nature of the sport. Drivers talk with different teams, teams talk with different drivers. Everyone has to just see what their cards are. But my seat never felt under threat, and I felt 100 per cent security with Toto and the team, and that obviously now continues."

Norris: It Would Be Great to Have Max as a Teammate Someday

Reigning world champion Lando Norris reiterated that he would have welcomed Verstappen as his teammate at McLaren had the move materialized. McLaren had been mentioned as a potential destination for Verstappen earlier this summer after discussions with his representatives were revealed. The possibility of this switch was further fueled by the news that Verstappen's race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, with whom he works closely, has agreed to join McLaren.

Most observers assumed that if Verstappen had joined McLaren, it would have been Oscar Piastri making way for him, rather than Norris himself, given Norris's status as the reigning world champion.

"I never heard much more than what you guys did," Norris stated. "I welcome anyone to be my teammate. Of course, a guy who has won as many world championships as he has, a guy who is as talented as him would always be cool to have as a teammate one day. But I know Oscar's my teammate for still quite a while yet, I know nothing is changing."