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George Russell and Max Verstappen have locked horns on multiple occasions, both on and off the race track, but the Mercedes star has explained why the Dutchman is still his ‘dream’ F1 teammate.
The most high-profile on-track interaction between George Russell and Max Verstappen came during last year’s Spanish Grand Prix, where the Red Bull star made contact with his rival’s Mercedes F1 car after seemingly seeing red.
The off-track excursions have largely taken place within the media pen or the confines of the drivers’ briefings, with one incident being detailed in Ted Kravitz’s recent book release.
Is Toto Wolff planting the seeds for poaching Max Verstappen from Red Bull? 🤔
Russell had had enough of Verstappen’s ‘bully’ nature and launched a premeditated attack on the Dutchman during an interview with the pit lane reporter.
The two F1 drivers had reportedly put their differences aside in the aftermath, only for the rivalry to be rehashed upon rumours of Verstappen signing for Mercedes ahead of this 2026 F1 season.
George Russell explains why Max Verstappen is his ‘dream’ F1 teammate
During an interview with Tencent Sports inside the Chinese Grand Prix paddock, Russell was asked who his “dream teammate” in F1 is, besides the drivers he has already shared a garage with in Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli.
The Mercedes star surprisingly said Verstappen, and went on to explain his answer by saying, “Well, I’ve always said that I want to be teammates with Max, because I feel like I had the opportunity with Lewis to go head-to-head with the greatest ever driver in Formula 1.
“Of course, now Max is a driver who is at an incredible level, and I want to go head-to-head.”
Could Russell beat Verstappen?
A partnership between Russell and Verstappen nearly came to fruition last year at Mercedes, at the height of the four-time world champion’s frustrations with Red Bull.
While a move didn’t materialise in the end, it has been reported that Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has been ‘keeping the door open’ for Verstappen ever since.
George Russell still sees Max Verstappen as a title threat despite Red Bull’s gap to Mercedes
Despite there being a relatively large gap between Mercedes and every team on the F1 grid, Russell hasn’t ruled out Verstappen from being a contender in the 2026 title fight.
Due to the dominance shown by the Silver Arrows in the two Grands Prix so far this season, the title this year is widely expected to be a battle between the British driver and his teammate, Kimi Antonelli.
However, Verstappen proved last year that you simply can’t rule him out of contention no matter what, and Russell has erred on the side of caution when noting who may stand in front of him during his quest for a maiden world title in the category.
While the current landscape of the F1 pecking order puts Verstappen at a very low chance of being able to secure a fifth world title, there’s no surprise that Russell would want to play things down rather than asserting his authority.
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