George Russell on Red Bull F1 2026 radar as Christian Horner faces Martin Brundle grilling

George Russell is on Red Bull’s shortlist for the F1 2026 season, with Christian Horner admitting the team “would be foolish not to” consider the Mercedes driver as he nears the end of his current contract.

Mercedes recently confirmed their driver lineup for F1 2025, with teenage sensation Andrea Kimi Antonelli promoted as Russell‘s new team-mate ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari.

George Russell to swap Mercedes for Red Bull come F1 2026?

The decision to sign Antonelli, 18, came after Mercedes had been persistently linked with a move for Max Verstappen, the reigning three-time World Champion.

With Mercedes electing not to specify the length of Antonelli’s contract, and Russell’s current deal set to expire at the end of next season, it has been suggested that Mercedes could renew their interest in Verstappen ahead of the F1 2026 season.

Despite being contracted to Red Bull until the end of the F1 2028 season, Horner recently told media including PlanetF1.com that Verstappen’s deal has a “performance [clause] element in it”.

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Horner went on to stress his belief that Verstappen will remain loyal to Red Bull for as long as the team continue to “provide a competitive car.”

Red Bull’s driver situation has come under scrutiny in F1 2024, with Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez without a podium finish since April and Daniel Ricciardo likely to be replaced by Liam Lawson at junior team VCARB ahead of the next race in the United States.

Asked by Martin Brundle why Red Bull have been left with “probably one of the weaker driver pairings on the grid” despite bringing through fresh talent over the years, Horner told Sky F1: “It’s a very good question.

“We’ve given a great opportunity to so many youngsters over the period of time and the Red Bull system does demand results and demand performance.

“And of course, if Max is delivering, Checo has been under delivering this year.

“Last year, he did a good job – or good enough job – to finish second in the Championship and be Constructors Champions.

“We’re having to look further down the road. We’ve got some great talent. We’ve got Liam Lawson on the bench.

“Looking at the likes of [Franco] Colapinto, [Oliver] Bearman and Antonelli, is he at that level? Only time will tell.

“We’ve got Isack Hadjar in Formula 2, who’s been, until recently, leading that championship.

“We’ve got a very exciting young talent that I’m particularly excited about in F3, Arvid Lindblad, so we’ve got depth in our junior program and that’s why there’s a natural gap now.”

Red Bull took F1 by surprise in late 2020 by signing Perez, who became the first driver not to emerge from the team’s famed junior academy to join the Milton Keynes-based outfit since Mark Webber in 2007.

With the long-term futures of both Verstappen and Perez uncertain, Horner has insisted that Red Bull are “not afraid” to consider another external signing for F1 2026, namechecking two-time race winner Russell.

Horner added: “We just want to take time to consider what those options look like for the future – and we’re not afraid to go out of the pool.

“George Russell is out of contract at the end of the next year. It would be foolish not to take that into consideration.

“There are other drivers – talented drivers – that could well be out of contract as well.”

Horner’s comments come after former Mercedes driver and 2016 World Champion Nico Rosberg aired fears that Russell could be forced to make way for Verstappen.

Rosberg told Sky F1: “George Russell is not safe at all because Toto [Wolff, Mercedes team boss] still wants Max and he will try again for 2026 because ‘give up’ does not appear in Toto’s vocabulary.

“If Max does become available – and I do think it’s a possibility – then it is a shootout between George and Kimi next year.

“And it’s a lot of pressure on George because he has everything to lose, really, next year.

“He should be the one ahead internally, because Kimi is 18 and he’s completely new and in a full-pressure situation.

“It’s not an easy situation there for George.”

Earlier this year, the former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan claimed Wolff met in Monaco with Mercedes chairman Ola Kallenius and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the chief of one-third team owner INEOS, to prepare a “fighting fund” to cover Verstappen’s salary.

Appearing on the Formula For Success podcast, Jordan claimed Verstappen “was aware” of the meeting between Mercedes’ top brass and warned that “we shouldn’t be surprised to see Max in a Mercedes car in the next few years.”

Jordan, 76, famously predicted Hamilton’s shock move from McLaren to Mercedes at the end of the 2012 season.

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