As the Max Verstappen to Mercedes rumour rumbles on, Johnny Herbert says the “common sense” next step for George Russell has to be Aston Martin.
Verstappen is once again being linked to Russell’s Mercedes race seat after the Briton stirred up the latest round of rumours when he declared Verstappen is talking with Toto Wolff about the future.
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“At Mercedes, they want to be back on top,” said Russell. “And if you’re going to be back on top, you need to make sure you’ve got the best drivers, the best engineers, the best pit crew and that’s what Mercedes are chasing.
“So it’s only normal that conversations with the likes of Verstappen are ongoing.”
But while now former Red Bull team boss Christian Horner called that “noise” and Toto Wolff said he wanted to keep conversations “behind closed doors, not town halls,” a week later Sky Italia claimed the talks were ‘concrete’ and that Verstappen was ready to break free of his Red Bull contract.
So far, though, the only huge change at Red Bull has been Horner’s exit as the team principal; the 51-year-old was sacked on Wednesday.
But that doesn’t mean the Dutchman isn’t leaving, and his number one destination is said to be Mercedes.
Mercedes does not yet have a contracted driver for next season, both Russell and Kimi Antonelli’s deals expire at the end of F1 2024.
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However, it’s Antonelli who is believed to be safe as the Italian junior is a protege of Wolff’s, and he’s unlikely to part ways with the driver that he sees as Mercedes’ future, or drop him into a reserve driver role for a season.
It begs the question, what should Russell do next if Verstappen claims his race seat.
Former F1 driver Herbert has whittled the Briton’s options down to two F1 teams; Aston Martin or Alpine.
“The potential for George Russell joining Aston Martin is still a possibility, I think there is an opportunity there for sure,” he told Escapist Magazine.
“Alpine is the only other one where there’s a seat.
“You don’t want to do a sit-out year because that is normally the worst thing that you do because things move far too quickly in Formula 1, and you could very easily suddenly get sort of pushed aside, even if you are George Russell.”
Alpine has a seat open for next season, with only Pierre Gasly under contract. Aston Martin has locked in both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
Despite that, Herbert says Russell has to push for a move to the Silverstone-based team, adding that it would also make sense for the team to sign the four-time Grand Prix winner. If, of course, it doesn’t make a swoop for Verstappen, which is another rumour that did the rounds earlier this year.
“I would hope a bit of common sense comes in and I hope George is the one that Aston Martin do choose if they [Mercedes] choose Max,” he said. “If Aston Martin choose Max, George is the best option they’ve got for the future with Mercedes.”
Red Bull will also be an option for Russell if Verstappen leaves, but for now the 27-year-old says he’s confident that he’ll be staying with Mercedes.
“Yeah, pretty confident, to be honest,” he told the media, including PlanetF1.com, at Silverstone.
“Because I think what I’ve proven so far has been plenty enough and, yeah, not really much more to say.
“Any teams who did reach out in the past, I said, ‘Look, I am loyal to Mercedes’. That’s where my future lies. And ultimately, Mercedes are my managers, so it has to be dealt through Mercedes in the first place.
“But yeah, there hasn’t been a lack of interest, let’s say, but I’ve been focused on my side. I am loyal to Mercedes, so at the end of the day, everything will work itself out, and the likelihood I’m not a Mercedes next year, I think, is exceptionally low.”
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