I was at Silverstone and British Grand Prix crowd showed Mercedes why they must drop George Russell for Max Verstappen

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George Russell had a British Grand Prix to forget as the King’s Lynn native finished his home race in P10 amid rumours that Mercedes want Max Verstappen to replace him.

The 27-year-old headed to Silverstone last weekend with speculation that Mercedes want to sign Red Bull rival Verstappen dominating the F1 driver market. But Russell could not silence the gossip on home soil as Mercedes fumbled his strategy during the wet-dry-wet-dry race.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is keeping very close tabs on Verstappen’s future at Red Bull, as Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli are both currently set to be out of contract after the 2025 F1 season. Verstappen has a contract at Red Bull through 2028, but it contains exit clauses.

It is even said that Wolff has a provisional agreement with Verstappen. But he is still waiting for the Mercedes board to give its final green light to a deal to sign the four-time reigning F1 champion. Yet Silverstone’s crowd showed Mercedes why Verstappen has to replace Russell.

The British Grand Prix crowd seemed to forget George Russell existed amid Mercedes speaking to Max Verstappen

Russell’s future is up in the air as Mercedes last gave him a new contract in August 2023 and Wolff also only gifted Antonelli a single-season deal to replace Lewis Hamilton in 2025. Now, Mercedes are desperate to sign Verstappen to fill Hamilton’s commercial void as they doubt that either Russell or Antonelli can take over from the most marketable person on the F1 grid.

READ MORE: Mercedes driver George Russell’s life outside F1 from net worth to height

But if Mercedes’ board had any doubts about signing Verstappen, then the British GP crowd would have put them to bed last weekend after how they treated Russell at his home event. While Hamilton was clearly still the King at Silverstone, Russell was nearly entirely forgotten.

Every time Formula 1 cars took to the track in Northamptonshire for practice, qualifying and the race, the grandstands and general admission areas roared to support Hamilton. Fans for almost every team cheered the seven-time champion, yet Russell could barely garner a clap.

Russell could have been anyone and you would not have noticed when he drove past, as the thousands who visited Silverstone across the weekend yearned to see Hamilton get his 10th British GP win or simply his first podium finish as a Ferrari driver after joining them this year.

McLaren star Lando Norris was also evidently the crowd’s second-most popular driver, with supporters all around Silverstone – and not just in the grandstands at Stowe renamed after the Bristol native – backing him. Even Verstappen had more support than Russell at stages.

While there were the occasional sarcastic jeers for the Red Bull driver, which became larger cheers when Verstappen spun exiting Stowe whilst running P2 in the British GP, parts of the Silverstone crowd delivered him greater levels of audible support than Russell all weekend.

Mercedes will note how Silverstone ignored Russell when Verstappen’s fans travel the globe

If Russell could not get fans in various grandstands around Silverstone behind him over the British GP weekend, then Mercedes will have to wonder if the four-time Grand Prix winner is the driver to lead them when Verstappen might come on the market for the 2026 F1 season.

Behind Hamilton, Verstappen is one of the most popular drivers around the globe thanks in part to winning the F1 drivers’ championship in each of the last four seasons. His Dutch fans are even amongst the most loyal, with thousands travelling over land and sea to follow him.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Red Bull have to designate grandstands at the Austrian Grand Prix for Verstappen’s fans, and many will fill the stands at Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix – his second home race after the Dutch Grand Prix as the 27-year-old was born in the city of Hasselt in Limburg.

So, while it is thought that Russell thinks Mercedes will sign Verstappen to replace Antonelli instead of himself, the Silverstone crowd did the Briton no favours. Especially when it is also said that Mercedes are trying to devalue Russell in their contract discussions ahead of 2026.

Seemingly, Mercedes do not believe Russell is capable of being the figurehead of their team beyond leading their interests on the track. And the crowd at Silverstone for the 2025 British GP were clearly not invested in Russell’s performance anywhere near Hamilton’s or Norris’.

That is not to say that Silverstone has not gotten behind Russell in the past, or that the fans who attended the 2025 British GP do not want him at Mercedes in 2026. Fans went wild for Russell after he qualified P8 with Williams for the Sprint at the 2021 British GP, for example.

But Mercedes are Verstappen’s priority for 2026 over staying at Red Bull, if Wolff does move to formalise the Silver Arrows’ interest. In turn, Red Bull are looking to make Russell an offer with team principal Christian Horner in talks with the Briton about a move to Milton Keynes.