Brundle: Verstappen staying at Red Bull, now Russell holds the ACE$

“Max will take a view in 2026 and see what happens,” Brundle said, reacting to Verstappen’s announcement ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “The crystal ball has never been more opaque because of next year’s changes.”

Formula 1 enters a new engine era in 2026, with Red Bull launching its in-house power unit project and rivals like Mercedes, Ferrari and Aston Martin all betting on regulation shake-ups to reset the competitive order. Brundle expects Verstappen to reassess once the dust settles.

“He knows there will be a Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari and Aston Martin seat available for 2027,” Brundle added. “Red Bull were never going to play the card with Christian Horner without ensuring Max was going to stay.”

With Verstappen locked in for one more season, attention shifts to Russell, whose contract with Mercedes is due to expire at the end of 2025. Brundle believes the timing has given Russell unexpected leverage.

“Suddenly George is by far and away the best driver available in the world of Formula 1 who doesn’t have a contract next year,” he said. “Now, suddenly, he’s like, ‘I’m going to slow this down a little bit.’ That’s how I’m reading it.”

Brundle warned that Russell’s earlier comments about driving for free or even paying to stay at Mercedes were unhelpful from a negotiation standpoint: “If I was managing George, I would have said, ‘Don’t say you’ll drive for nothing’ or ‘Don’t say you’ll pay, please, because that’s going to come back and hurt us somewhere.’ But I know the point he was trying to make.”

With Verstappen’s medium-term future now publicly settled and several top seats potentially opening in 2027, Brundle believes the power dynamics have shifted. “The cards have turned around. George will want some certainty. What he won’t want to do is find himself in this position again next year if Max Verstappen happens to be on the market.”