SportyTV | Dutch Grand Prix: Russell 'never felt under threat' by Verstappen amid Mercedes talk

George Russell insisted his Mercedes seat "never felt under threat" by Max Verstappen, who ended speculation on his own future by signing a new contract with Red Bull.

Verstappen, whose previous deal with Red Bull was due to expire in 2028, put pen to paper on fresh terms on Thursday, keeping him with the team until 2030.

He had been linked with a move to Mercedes for some time, with interest first peaking when Lewis Hamilton announced he would be moving to Ferrari two years ago.

The 28-year-old has been at Red Bull for 10 years and has won four world titles for the team, while also reeling off several records along the way.

Verstappen became the youngest driver to win a race in Formula One, aged 18 years, seven months and 15 days, which was his debut for Red Bull at the Spanish Grand Prix.

He also holds the record for the most consecutive wins (10 between Miami and Italy in 2023) and most victories in a single year (19 in 2023), thus making him an attractive option for some of the top teams to consider for the future.

The Dutchman has made his feelings known about his dissatisfaction with the new rules and regulations, with Red Bull struggling so far while Mercedes and Ferrari have flourished, and Verstappen even suggested he could walk away from the sport.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has openly admitted his admiration for Verstappen, though given Kimi Antonelli's blistering start to 2026, many believed Russell's seat was in danger, but the Briton said he felt no such pressure.

"It's only really a topic for us when we're sat in front of you guys in the press, and you want to ask these questions and understand what's going on," Russell said.

"It was always very clear from within Mercedes what the reality was over these past couple of years.

"Maybe those conversations were slightly more public than the conversations his team were having with the likes of McLaren, or Ferrari, or whoever else it may have been.

"That's just the nature of the sport. Drivers talk with different teams, teams talk with different drivers. Everyone just has to see what their cards are.

"But my seat never felt under threat, and I felt 100 per cent security with Toto and the team, and that obviously now continues."

MV 2030 pic.twitter.com/W1F7st0kdR
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) August 20, 2026

Lando Norris was another driver asked about Verstappen's decision to remain at Red Bull, with the reigning world champion saying he would love to have him at McLaren.

McLaren emerged as a possible alternative for Verstappen when it was reported earlier this summer that the team had held talks with the Dutchman's camp over a move.

The possibility of a switch looked likely, given Verstappen's race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, will join McLaren in 2028, though with Norris' status as world champion, it would mean Oscar Piastri would leave the team.

Piastri to Red Bull would not have been a surprise move either, given the Australian is managed by Mark Webber, who raced for the team from 2007 until 2013.

"I never heard much more than what you guys did," Norris said. "I welcome anyone to be my team-mate.

"Of course, a guy who has won as many world championships as he has, a guy who is as talented as him, would always be cool to have as a team-mate one day.

"But I knew Oscar was going to be my team-mate for quite a while yet, I know nothing is changing."

DRIVERS TO WATCH

Lando Norris – McLaren

After claiming his first win since the Sao Paulo Grand Prix at the Hungaroring ahead of the summer break, Norris will arrive at the Dutch Grand Prix with renewed confidence.

Norris' win in Hungary was the 12th of his career, and should he win again in the Netherlands, he will become the 25th driver in history to record 13 or more victories in the sport, drawing level with Alberto Ascari and David Coulthard.

McLaren will fancy their chances here, too, given they have won the last two editions of the race, with Piastri triumphing in 2025 and Norris taking first 12 months earlier.

But he will expect competition. Since the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, there have been five different race winners (Hamilton, Russell, Charles Leclerc, Antonelli and Norris). Only once in the Hybrid Era (since 2014) have six consecutive races been won by different drivers.

Kimi Antonelli – Mercedes

Antonelli produced a stunning drive in Hungary to recover from starting seventh on the grid to join Norris and Verstappen on the podium, thus extending his lead in the Drivers' Championship over Hamilton to 50 points.

He has recorded nine podium finishes in 2026, and has the opportunity to surpass Riccardo Patrese (nine in 1992) as the Italian driver with the most podiums in a single season in the history of the sport.

Mercedes have also had at least one of their two drivers on the podium in each of the first 11 races of 2026. They have only achieved a longer run once, with podium finishes in the first 19 races of 2014.

However, they have won the Dutch Grand Prix just once in six appearances, with Juan Manuel Fangio winning in 1955. In the five races held since 2021, the Silver Arrows have only finished on the podium in the first two, with Hamilton (second) and Valtteri Bottas (third) in 2021, and Russell (second) in 2022.