George Russell’s blunt response to Max Verstappen’s quit threats: ‘F1 is bigger than him’
Max Verstappen has admitted he is considering his Formula 1 future and, on Friday, rival George Russell gave his take on the situation in a web call with Mirror Sport and select F1 media
George Russell has told wantaway Formula 1 rival Max Verstappen that the sport will be just fine without him. The Dutchman, 28, has told everyone who’ll listen that he hates driving the new generation of cars. And after Red Bull’s dreadful start to the season, he admitted last month that he’s considering his F1 future.
While losing one of its most recognisable stars would be a commercial blow to F1, Russell knows the world will keep on turning. “Formula 1 is bigger than any driver,” he bluntly said. Though the Mercedes driver went on to admit he and his rivals would miss competing against F1’s most successful star of recent years. He said: “You wouldn’t want to lose Max, because I think we all enjoy racing against Max.”
As for Verstappen’s constant complaints, Russell added: “I didn’t enjoy driving the ’22 car when it was porpoising up and down, killing everybody’s backs. The car was big, it was heavy. The high-speed corners, it wasn’t very pleasant to drive. But he didn’t have the same complaint because he was winning.
“Now, the complaints that he has currently are different to the complaints of Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren, because we’re at the front end of the grid.
“You understand and recognise the frustration. But he’s achieved what most drivers dream of, which is winning a championship. He’s got four of them. I guess you get to a point in life that there’s not really much more for him to achieve in Formula 1.
“He’s ticked all the boxes. Maybe he can go after the records but, knowing him as I do and knowing drivers who have won or achieved similar things at one point, you want to do what puts a smile on your face.”
If he is outside the top two in the championship by the summer break, it is understood Verstappen will have between August and October to activate his Red Bull release clause. He would be free not only to quit F1 before the end of his contract, which runs until 2028, but also to join another team should he decide he wants to continue, just in a more competitive car.
In the meantime, Verstappen has at least been able to find some joy racing away from the F1 track, despite disqualified for using one tyre set too many when he won a GT3 race at the fearsome Nordschleife circuit in Germany last month. He plans to return to compete in the Nurburgring 24 Hours race in May, which will take place on one of his weekends off between the Miami and Canadian Grands Prix.
Russell admitted he would love to be able to do the same one day, but is focused first on achieving the level of success Verstappen has already enjoyed in F1. He added: “I can totally understand why driving the Nordschleife puts a smile on his face. I’ve driven hundreds of laps around the Nordschleife on the simulator.
“I would love to have that chance to go and race around the Nordschleife, but my goal now is to become a Formula 1 world champion. If I have four of them under my belt, I’d probably be doing the same. He’s in a very different stage of his career. And yeah, I think you’d understand if he stayed and you’d understand if he went.”
