F1 star reveals team’s Verstappen talks as Red Bull future left uncertain

A star of the 2025 F1 grid has lifted the lid on their own team's talks to potentially sign reigning champion Max Verstappen.

The Dutchman is currently contracted with Red Bull until the end of the 2028 season, but an early exit is looking likely as his 10th campaign in the sport bumbles on.

F1 HEADLINES: Mercedes' Verstappen pursuit takes new twist as Red Bull replacement talks confirmed

Despite securing consecutive drivers' titles across the last four years, Verstappen currently sits third in the standings as McLaren go from strength to strength in both championships.

Meanwhile, Red Bull, the team with whom Verstappen has achieved his career success so far, have tumbled down to fourth in the team order behind Ferrari and Mercedes.

And it is Toto Wolff's outfit that appears most passionate at the chance to sign Verstappen, with Mercedes star George Russell addressing the topic at this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix.

The British racer should be riding high off the back of his first grand prix victory in 2025 last time out in Canada, but instead, he is facing constant questions over his own future.

Mercedes are yet to confirm a new contract for either Russell or his new team-mate Kimi Antonelli, with their No. 1 driver claiming Wolff's interest in Verstappen is holding up his chance to put pen to paper to remain with the Brackley-based outfit.

Russell blames Verstappen for F1 contract delay

Speaking ahead of this weekend's round at the Red Bull Ring, Russell was questioned over whether talks of his own contract with Mercedes were ongoing, replying: "Yeah, a little bit. No major updates yet."

"It's not something that I'm pressing massively because, as I've always said, the performance is the priority, and I feel with the performance I'm showing at the moment - still in line with the performance I've shown over all these years - I've got zero reasons to be worried.

"But obviously, it does help if there was pen on paper. But let's see."

The 27-year-old appeared to waver in confidence later on in Austria however, admitting that the potential for Verstappen to be on the driver market was hampering his chances at finally getting his own extension over the line.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner and his advisor Helmut Marko have both admitted Verstappen's contract does include exit clauses which could be activated if the team fails to provide him with a championship-winning car.

So if Red Bull's dip in performance continues and Mercedes continue to delay an announcement over either of their drivers' contracts, it seems as though Russell could have quite a few reasons to be worried.

Speaking to Sky F1 in Spielberg, Russell admitted: "I think, as a team, it depends where you put your aspirations.

"We're second best at the moment, maybe third best. We might be overperforming slightly to be second best.

"As Mercedes, they want to be back on top, and if you're going to be back on top you need to make sure you've got the best drivers, the best engineers, the best pit crew, and that's what Mercedes are chasing.

"So, it's only normal that conversations with the likes of Verstappen are ongoing. But from my side, if I'm performing as I'm doing, what have I got to be concerned about? There are two seats in every Formula 1 team," he concluded.

It isn't just 'the likes of Verstappen' on Mercedes' radar though, it's THE Verstappen... MAX Verstappen. Considering he boasts four more titles than Russell, now seems like as good a time as any for the Brit to snap back into reality and prove his worth once more this weekend out on track.

READ MORE: Verstappen dealt absence blow at Austrian Grand Prix

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