George Russell says he doesn’t want Formula 1 to “lose” Max Verstappen as the four-time champion vents his unhappiness with the new cars. Verstappen has been the most vocal critic of the 2026 cars’ reliance on electrical power and the compromises it forces drivers to make on track. He’s even suggested it could be his last season in F1.Russell is an old rival of Verstappen and has his best shot yet at the title thanks to Mercedes’ strong start to the season. He trails teammate Kimi Antonelli by nine points ahead of the Miami Grand Prix in two weeks.“Formula 1’s bigger than any driver. You wouldn’t want to lose Max because I think we all enjoy racing against Max,” Russell said Friday, and suggested some of Verstappen’s criticism might be because he and Red Bull aren’t among the title contenders.“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.”Russell said Verstappen’s interest in forays into other events like endurance sportscar racing might be linked to having “not really much more for him to achieve” in F1.“My goal now is to become a Formula 1 world champion. If I had four of them (titles) under my belt, I’d probably be doing the same,” Russell said. “He’s in a very different stage of his career and I think you’d understand if he stayed and you’d understand if you went.”Russell said potential rule changes have been a focus for him during the unexpected mid-season break caused when the races in Bahrain and …
