Rosberg predicts Red Bull situation after Verstappen stays: 'I am sure of that'

07:49, 30 Jul

byHidde Korte

Max Verstappen’s future has been a hot topic in recent weeks. Last week, Helmut Marko provided some clarity, prompting a reaction from Nico Rosberg.

Marko confirmed to sport.de that Verstappen will stay with Red Bull Racing in 2026. The Dutchman still has to confirm the news himself.

On the other hand, the Daily Mail reported that Russell is close to signing a contract extension with Mercedes.

Nico Rosberg now reacted to the news via the Sky F1 show after the Spa weekend: ''It's good to finally have clarity on that, that it was all around this exit clause.''

''And then beyond that, we don't even know if, if he would have moved or not in any case, but now it seems that that clause has triggered him to be obliged to stay at Red Bull.''

''And which anyways, it still makes sense for him because it's so difficult to judge which team is going to be best next year with new regulations. And Red Bull certainly will be in a good position, I'm sure. So anyway, we have clarity there.''

Rosberg then added: ''Now we need to see what does Mercedes do? Do they move quickly? I mean, they would have to move quickly to confirm George as a first thing. And then how quickly do they move to confirm Kimi Antonelli, which I guess at the moment they would take their time a little bit more.''

There was a lot of buzz around Max Verstappen and George Russell

Will Russell and Verstappen become teammates?

GPblog understands that Russell's deal would be a multi-year agreement. The contract of teammate Kimi Antonelli also expires at the end of this year, and Wolff previously indicated that he would like to continue with the two.

A new contract for Antonelli has not yet been announced, which could mean that Verstappen and Russell could become teammates in 2027.