Does George Russell need a Max Verstappen clause? Nico Rosberg responds

Sky F1 pundit Nico Rosberg is not convinced that George Russell requesting a “Max Verstappen clause” escape route at Mercedes is necessary. 

Despite Verstappen affirming his 2026 commitment to Red Bull, Russell is yet to be confirmed as a Mercedes driver for next season.

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Rosberg was asked whether, if he were Russell’s manager holding talks with boss Toto Wolff, he would request a clause in the new deal which would allow Russell to leave Mercedes if Verstappen joined.

The Verstappen to Mercedes rumours returned in F1 2025. That was sparked by Russell, who had claimed that “ongoing” discussions between Verstappen and the team were influencing his path to a new deal.

Those rumours stopped when Verstappen finally stated, in black and white terms, that he would still be a Red Bull driver in F1 2026.

It was at the end of July when Verstappen issued that confirmation, yet Russell has not signed a new contract with Mercedes.

Sky F1 commentator David Croft put the question to Rosberg about whether Russell should be trying to squeeze a Verstappen-related exit clause into his new terms.

Verstappen remains contracted to Red Bull until the end of 2028, but a performance-dependent exit clause in his deal could re-open the door to Mercedes and other teams next season.

Asked if Russell should demand the right to walk away from Mercedes if Verstappen arrives, Rosberg hinted that Russell will have bigger priorities to attend to than such a clause.

“I don’t know if that’s necessary now,” he replied. “That’s a difficult one.

“I think he has much other challenges, in wanting to get a salary higher and his [sponsor] days lower, and what could other things be in there.

“Probably, George will be working on the bonuses – not on his base salary, because that’s a bit more painful.

“But he will say: ‘Toto, come on, if we’re winning together and I’m on such a low salary, just at least give me higher bonuses or something like that.’

“I think those would be the kind of points where George is just hanging out.

“Because George has a lot of power, obviously, and he can take it all the way to: ‘Well, then I just stay home for a year.'”

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Russell’s team-mate Kimi Antonelli is in the same boat of not possessing a signed Mercedes contract for F1 2026.

Wolff issued a recent update on where Mercedes is at with its driver considerations.

“We’re continuing with both of them, of course,” Wolff told PlanetF1.com’s Thomas Maher and other media outlets.

“And with George, [he] has a few things where we want to optimise some of the travelling and the marketing days, how many hours we’re putting [in].

“He’s an experienced driver, and for us, it’s always important to talk about it.

“We want to have the best performance of the drivers, and I think we’ve given both of them quite a strain with marketing activities and media activities, and this is how we recalibrate.”

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