Nelson Piquet Jr says George Russell would complain just like Max Verstappen if they swapped cars

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It has been suggested that George Russell would be complaining about the 2026 regulations if he were not winning.

The 2026 Formula 1 regulations have seen mixed reviews from the teams and drivers after the opening two rounds of the season in Australia and China.

Most notably, Max Verstappen has been very vocal about his negative feelings towards the new regulations, which have seen him and Red Bull suffer in the early stages of the year.

Whilst Mercedes and George Russell, who lead the world championship, have expressed positive views on the regulations after their newfound success against Red Bull and McLaren.

Recently, it had been suggested that Verstappen would not dislike the new regulations if he was in a Mercedes. However, how would it be if Russell were in a Red Bull?

Would Max Verstappen be complaining about F1’s 2026 regulations if he had joined Mercedes?

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In a recent episode of the Pelas Pistas Podcast, Nelson Piquet Jr. discussed that it is more likely that drivers who are not in good cars would complain about the regulations.

However, he also suggested that Russell would ‘probably be complaining’ about the new regulations if he did not have the early success that he has had with Mercedes.

Piquet Jr. said, “I think nowadays we see the two Mercedes drivers, at least until now, I haven’t heard them say anything about the regulations. I don’t know about you, but I think it’s natural. I think they might find it bad. I think especially the drivers who aren’t in a good car this year will complain, right?

“Because besides having a car that will be very different from Mercedes, which most of them are, the regulations really aren’t favourable for them. Now, any driver who is in the lead, I don’t think they would be complaining. I think that, regardless of anything, being in the lead, winning races, is the priority for everyone there, between teams, drivers, everything. I think the drivers’ real concern is winning.

“Of course, we want good regulations; they have to be good for everyone, but it’s more about that. I think Russell would probably be complaining about these regulations if he were driving the car and getting the results he was getting last year.”

Should Mercedes give up on trying to sign Max Verstappen?

For years, it has been suggested that Mercedes and Max Verstappen will someday join forces, after the Dutch driver opted to sign for Red Bull over Mercedes when he originally joined the series.

However, after the opening two rounds of the 2026 season, it has been suggested that Mercedes should abandon any plans of trying to sign Verstappen. As Russell and Kimi Antonelli have had a strong start to the 2026 season for Mercedes.

With Russell winning the Australian Grand Prix and the Sprint Race at the Chinese Grand Prix, and Kimi Antonelli securing his first Formula 1 victory in China, Mercedes could find themselves in a teammate title battle once again.

It has been a few years since Mercedes has fought for the Formula 1 title, let alone had two drivers fighting for the title. Mario Andretti has suggested that Wolff needs to be careful when navigating the 2026 title fight, as Mercedes may gift the title to a rival.

Andretti said, “At one point, you have to favour one driver. Otherwise, it turns out that they keep stealing points from one another, and somebody else wins the championship.”