George Russell speaks out on Max Verstappen F1 retirement: 'He's got nothing left to achieve'

George Russell and Max Verstappen — Photo: © IMAGO

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George Russell speaks out on Max Verstappen F1 retirement: 'He's got nothing left to achieve'

George Russell reveals whether he thinks Max Verstappen will leave F1

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Monday 20 April 2026 12:55

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George Russell has spoken out about whether Max Verstappen will retire from F1 in an honest admission about the four-time champion.

Russell and Verstappen's on-track rivalry has been a storyline rumbling away underneath F1's surface, emerging and exploding at certain flashpoints, such as Barcelona last year when the Dutchman crashed into the Brit, with many feeling it was done intentionally.

For most of their time as colleagues on the F1 grid, it's been Verstappen who is used to the success, romping to four back-to-back world titles in the time Russell only claimed three victories.

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While Red Bull dominated the ground effect era, Mercedes largely struggled with porpoising - a violent bouncing caused by aerodynamic instability at high speeds - and were out of the championship fight.

But the all new regulations have favoured Mercedes and their power unit, with Russell currently battling his team-mate Kimi Antonelli for the title and a Silver Arrows driver having won every race of the season thus far.

Meanwhile, Verstappen languishes down in P9 in the drivers' standings, bemoaning the anti-racing F1 cars and is even said to be 'seriously considering' retirement.

Russell: F1 is bigger than any driver

Speaking to Sky Sports during the five-week break between F1 races, Russell claimed he would understand it if Verstappen walked away from the sport, although couldn't resist a dig that the Dutchman's complaints were a result of him not winning.

"Formula 1 is bigger than any driver. You wouldn't want to lose Max, because I think we all enjoy racing against Max and it's just part and parcel of Formula 1," Russell explained.

"I didn't enjoy driving the 2022 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 around, 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 and this is only natural when you do understand and recognise the frustration. But he's achieved what most drivers dream of, which you know, is winning a championship.

"He's got four of them and at the end of the day, I guess you get to a point in life, there's not really much more for him to achieve in Formula 1. He's ticked all the boxes, maybe he could 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."

F1 Max Verstappen George Russell