George Russell ultimatum given by Christian Horner as Red Bull contemplate choices
Christian Horner has revealed Red Bull could set their sights on George Russell once his tenure with Mercedes comes to an end.
Out of contract at the close of the next F1 season, 26-year-old Russell’s prowess on the track, notably alongside team-mate Lewis Hamilton, hasn’t gone unnoticed by the Red Bull boss, describing it as “foolish” not to ponder an offer for him. Russell, who graduated from Williams, has been making waves at Mercedes over the past two years.
He currently sits seventh in the 2024 standings with seven races left and 143 points under his belt, thanks to victory at the Austrian GP and podium finishes in Canada, Azerbaijan, and Spain. Horner sees him as a potential top-tier addition to Red Bull after his Mercedes contract expiration.
READ MORE: George Russell shows his true colours after heartbreaking Belgian Grand Prix result
READ MORE: Lando Norris admits ‘priority number one’ after being tempted to disobey team orders and win
In the build-up to the Singapore GP qualifying, Horner admitted: “We have got a gap now but we just want to take time to consider what those options look like for the future. We’re not afraid to go out of the pool. George Russell is out of contract at the end of next year and it would be foolish for us not to take that into consideration.”
Kimi Antonelli will partner Russell at Mercedes for the 2025 season, with Hamilton leaving to join Ferrari. But if both Mercedes stars depart, Toto Wolff could be sweating as he looks to bag a new superstar like three-time champ Max Verstappen – who’s got his own get-out clause in 2026.
A potential tug-of-war could see Russell swap with Verstappen, but with his eyes on the prize Horner isn’t fretting over future talent. He added: “We have given a great opportunity to many young drivers, some who you mentioned there. The Red Bull system does demand performance and does demand results.
(Image: Getty Images)
“Of course, Max is delivering. Checo has been underperforming this year, but last year he did a good enough job to finish second and win us the constructors championship. We need to look further down the road, we have got some great talent. We have got Liam Lawson on the bench.
“We are not quite sure looking at the likes of Colapinto, Bearman and Antonelli, is he at that level? Time will tell. We have got Isack Hadjar in Formula 2, who until recently was leading that championship. We have got a very promising talent that I am particularly excited about in F3 in Arvin Lindblad. We have got lot of depth in our junior programme.”
Verstappen is in pole position to clinch a fourth consecutive title this year. He’s topping the championship with a massive 313 points from seven wins and 10 podiums, ahead of Lando Norris with 254 points for McLaren.
