Nico Rosberg has waned George Russell that his seat at Mercedes for 2026 is ‘not safe at all’.
Rosberg stated that Mercedes could still pursue world champion Max Verstappen.
With Lewis Hamilton set to join Ferrari next season, it was confirmed by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff that Andrea Kimi Antonelli, 18, will take over.
At the end of the 2025 season both Russell and Antonelli will be out of contract, with there being uncertainty over their futures despite Wolff saying that his pursuit of Verstappen has currently been ‘paused’.
As reported by Sky Sports, Rosberg said: ‘George is not safe at all because Toto still wants Max.
‘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.
‘It’s a lot of pressure on George as he has everything to lose. He should be the one ahead at the team internally, because Kimi is 18 and he’s completely new and in a full-pressure situation, so it’s not an easy situation for George.’
Wolff dismissed suggestions that there will be a shootout between Russell and Antonelli in 2025.
He told Sky Sports: ‘No. I very much hope we go a long time with these two. It is clear you always pick the best (drivers) but as it stands, that is the line-up.
‘We have had an open channel over the last few years (with Verstappen). Sometimes discussing more, sometimes discussing less, but it never came to putting terms together.
‘We have a commitment to our drivers to give it our best effort so for the moment it is a pause.’
Sky Sports’ Martin Brundle claimed that Russell will be ‘looking over his shoulder’ regarding his situation at Mercedes.
Brundle said: ‘Clearly Toto is hugely invested personally in Kimi and with him making these overtures to Max, I think George will occasionally be looking over his shoulder wondering where he stands.
‘But he’s the Mercedes team leader at a time when they seem to be really coming good again and if you have a future-proof pairing in George and Antonelli and they are getting the job done, you don’t need to spend north of £50m on another driver.’
Russell replaced Valtteri Bottas at Mercedes in 2022. He finished in eighth place last year and is currently in the same position in the standings.
