Two big barriers to a Verstappen-Russell swap at Mercedes singled out
Photo: Race Pictures
Tobia is a Formula 1 journalist at GPblog with experience at international circuits. Since 2022, he has covered Grands Prix across Europe, delivering reliable coverage and insights from the paddock.
Guenther Steiner believes Toto Wolff would not part ways with Russell so easily, even if Verstappen were to come knocking at the door.
"For sure, Max doesn't come for less money than he gets at Red Bull and I think the salary gap between Max and George is still something which has an influence"- Guenther Steiner
Speaking on the Red Flags podcast, the former Haas team principal believes a move that would bring Verstappen to Mercedes would be far from straightforward, given the salary gap between the two drivers and the prospect of letting go of a potential world champion already in the team at the end of the season.
"For sure, Max doesn't come for less money than he gets at Red Bull and I think the salary gap between Max and George is still something which has an influence. It's not $5,000, it's a little bit more.
"Then you've got the world champion. I mean, he hasn't won the world championship yet, but we all speculated or we all anticipate that he was going to win it, So it's difficult. 'Oh, I sack the world champion. He did a fantastic job, but I get rid of you.' And I'm pretty sure that George will have something in his contract that they cannot let him go if he wins the world championship. I think that is the most logic one."
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Photo: Red Bull Content Pool
Russell warned after Antonelli’s first win: ‘He has a lot less to smile about’
Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, former Formula 1 driver Riccardo Patrese believes Russell now has far less reason to feel comfortable and may be starting to look over his shoulder.
According to him, the Briton’s performance over the weekend has raised a number of questions for the Mercedes driver, particularly after witnessing the level delivered by Antonelli. While Russell was well aware of the Italian’s talent, Patrese suggested he may not have expected such a composed and complete performance so early.
The young Mercedes driver impressed with a flawless race on Sunday, keeping the situation firmly under control, managing his tyres with maturity and leaving the impression that he still had extra pace in reserve even if Russell had managed to close the gap. For that reason, Patrese believes Russell is likely to feel at least a little uneasy after what he saw on track.
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