George Russell has said he would understand if Max Verstappen chose to leave Formula One after the four-time champion recently cast doubt on his future in the sport because of his dissatisfaction with current regulations.
Russell, who is second behind his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli in the world championship, insisted Verstappen had nothing left to prove.
The Dutch driver has been outspoken in his dislike of the new rules and the prevalent role energy management plays in the racing, and at the last round in Japan openly intimated he was considering quitting.
“Formula One is bigger than any driver. You wouldn’t want to lose Max because we all enjoy racing against him,” said Russell. “But he has achieved what most drivers dream of, which is winning a world championship and he has got four of them, and at the end of the day, you get to a point where there isn’t much more for him to achieve.
“He has ticked all the boxes. Maybe he can go after the records? But knowing him as I do – and drivers who have won or achieved similar things – at one point you want to do what puts a smile on your face.
“My goal now is to become a Formula One world champion and if I had four of them under my belt, I would probably be doing the same. He is in a very different stage of his career and I would understand if he stayed and also understand if he went.”
Verstappen has been open about pursuing opportunities in GT racing, including currently preparing to take part in the Nurburgring 24 Hours on the weekend of 16-17 May, while this month his longtime race engineer and friend, Gianpiero Lambiase, announced he would be leaving Red Bull to join McLaren. Verstappen is under contract with Red Bull until 2028 but he is understood to have performance-based escape clauses that would allow him to exit sooner.
Verstappen is ninth in the world championship, with a best finish of sixth from the opening three rounds and Russell, whose Mercedes team enjoy the best car in the field, noted that Red Bull’s relatively poor performance would play on any driver’s mind.
“I didn’t enjoy driving the 2022 car when it was porpoising up and down and killing everybody’s backs,” he added. “He [Verstappen] didn’t have the same complaints because he was winning.
“Now, the complaints he currently has are different to the complaints of Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren because we are at the front end of the grid. This is only natural and you do understand and recognise his frustrations.”
Russell opened the season well with a win but has since been passed by his 19-year-old teammate Antonelli. The Italian, in only his second season, has won the last two races to take the title lead and admitted he was now considering quite how far he might go this year.
“It’s been a better start than what we all anticipated and hoped for, at least on my side,” Antonelli said. “It’s been a very strong start of the season and definitely, expectations automatically, they’re a bit different now.
“Of course, I feel like I can be a challenger. That’s what I’m here for. I want to race to win. And I want to race to win races and championships. So that’s my goal. This year it’s a massive opportunity for all of us and especially for me and George, because we have a very strong car. Both of us, we don’t want to waste this opportunity.”