George Russell Says He Would Understand If Max Verstappen Quit F1

George Russell said Formula 1 would not want to lose Max Verstappen, but he would “understand if he stayed and also understand if he went,” after Verstappen cast doubt on his future in the sport because of dissatisfaction with current regulations.

Russell framed the issue as bigger than any single driver, telling reporters: “Formula One is bigger than any driver. You wouldn’t want to lose Max because we all enjoy racing against him.”

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In the same set of comments, Russell said Verstappen has “achieved what most drivers dream of, which is winning a world championship and he has got four of them,” and that “at the end of the day, you get to a point where there isn’t much more for him to achieve.”

Russell also pointed to Verstappen’s stage of career, saying: “He is in a very different stage of his career and I would understand if he stayed and also understand if he went.”

The context for Russell’s remarks was Verstappen’s dissatisfaction with how the cars behave under new rules introduced this year, which Russell linked to the way energy management now shapes driving.

Russell said Verstappen’s concerns center on the new power units introduced this year and “the degree of energy management required,” noting that the engines have “a near 50-50 split between internal combustion and electrical power.”

Russell said Verstappen’s complaints are tied to the new technical era’s emphasis on energy management, which has changed qualifying and racing behavior.

In Russell’s account, the new rules have introduced “a new form of driving and racing,” with qualifying laps “no longer on the limit at all times” because drivers need to recharge the battery.

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Russell described how racing is affected by “large variations in battery charge level” and by new “overtaking” and “boost” modes, which he said leads to “huge speed differentials between cars.”

He added that Verstappen’s dissatisfaction is also influenced by Red Bull’s lack of competitiveness early in the season, saying: “I didn’t enjoy driving the 2022 car when it was porpoising up and down, killing everybody's backs,” and that he had “the same complaint, because he was winning.”

Russell argued that complaints differ depending on where a team sits on the grid, saying: “Now, the complaints that he has currently are different to the complaints of Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren, because we're at the front end of the grid.”

The BBC also reported that Verstappen’s comments came after the Japanese Grand Prix, where he said he was considering his future in F1 because of dissatisfaction with how the cars behave under the new rules.

Beyond assessing Verstappen’s frustration, Russell also discussed what he called “low-hanging fruit” in the engine rules, linking his comments to ongoing talks aimed at addressing drivers’ complaints about the new regulations.

Russell, described as a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, said the “two headline points are flat-out qualifying, so no lift and coast, and then reducing the closing speeds.”

He said there was “a lot of low-hanging fruit” that rule-makers could address, including removing a lower limit at which teams can recharge the cars' batteries when at full throttle.

Russell explained that the current system sets this at “250 kW,” rather than the maximum recharge limit of “350 kW” that can be applied when a driver has lifted off the throttle and/or is braking.

He said having the lower limit forces drivers into more “lift and coast—when they lift off the accelerator and let the car run before braking for a corner.”

Russell called the change “a no-brainer,” saying: “The minus 350 kilowatts super-clip is a no-brainer, and that already in itself is going to avoid a lot of lift and coast.”

The uncertainty around Verstappen’s future in F1 has also been shaped by personnel changes at Red Bull, including the planned departure of Gianpiero Lambiase.

Crash.net reported that Verstappen revealed he encouraged his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase to accept an offer to join Formula 1 rival McLaren.

BBC

The report said the announcement was made that Lambiase, Verstappen’s long-serving race engineer and Red Bull’s head of racing, would be joining McLaren from 2028 when his current contract expires.

Speaking at a Viaplay event in Amsterdam on Thursday evening, Verstappen said: “He told me what kind of offer he’d received. I said: ‘You’d be daft not to take it,’” and added: “He asked me for my approval, so to speak, and I told him he absolutely had to go for it.”

The report also quoted Verstappen’s father, Jos, telling RaceXpress: “We knew for a while, and we also knew when it was going to happen,” and saying: “We will see.”

The Guardian, meanwhile, reported that Verstappen is under contract with Red Bull until 2028 and that he is understood to have performance-based escape clauses that would allow him to exit sooner, while also noting his preparation for GT racing at the Nurburgring 24 Hours on the weekend of 16-17 May.

While multiple outlets carried Russell’s core message that “Formula 1 is bigger than any driver,” they differed in what they emphasized around Verstappen’s potential exit and the surrounding season context.

The BBC focused tightly on the technical reasons for Verstappen’s dissatisfaction, describing the “near 50-50 split between internal combustion and electrical power” and detailing how qualifying and racing are affected by battery recharge needs and “overtaking” and “boost” modes.

BBC

The Guardian, by contrast, paired Russell’s remarks with a broader season-and-contract framing, saying Verstappen is “currently ninth in the world championship” and that he is “under contract with Red Bull until 2028” with “performance-based escape clauses.”

Sky Sports emphasized the timing of Formula 1’s return and quoted Russell’s line “You'd understand if he stayed and you'd understand if he went,” while also tying Verstappen’s comments to the 2026 regulations and the effect of the 50-50 split.

ESPN also linked Russell’s interpretation to Red Bull’s struggles, saying Russell believes Verstappen’s quit threat is linked to “Red Bull's struggles so far this season,” and quoting Verstappen’s description of the rules as “anti-racing.”

Crash.net and The Race shifted attention to the personnel story around Gianpiero Lambiase, with Crash.net reporting Verstappen’s direct encouragement of Lambiase to join McLaren and The Race describing Russell’s belief that Verstappen wants to prioritize racing “somewhere more for fun now he is not winning in Formula 1.”

The reporting also pointed to what could happen next for Verstappen and for Formula 1’s competitive landscape, with multiple outlets tying the future to both the 2026 rule environment and the season’s results.

The Guardian said Verstappen is “preparing to take part in the Nurburgring 24 Hours on the weekend of 16-17 May,” while also noting that his longtime race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase announced he would be leaving Red Bull to join McLaren.

It added that Verstappen’s contract runs until 2028, and that he is understood to have performance-based escape clauses that could allow him to exit sooner, making his future beyond this season uncertain.

Sky Sports reported that Formula 1 returns with a Sprint weekend in Miami on May 1-3, and it described Russell’s comments being made in a Mercedes media session held amid F1’s five-week break before the sport’s return.

ESPN said Verstappen was considering leaving F1 at the end of the year due to his dislike of the sport’s new regulations, which he described as “anti-racing,” and it connected Russell’s view to Red Bull’s struggles after an eighth-place finish at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Russell’s own focus, according to the BBC and ESPN, remained on becoming a Formula 1 world champion, with the BBC quoting him: “But my goal now is to become a Formula 1 world champion.”