Former F1 team principal at Haas, Guenther Steiner, has speculated in his podcast ‘The Red Flags Podcast’ that Mercedes driver George Russell may be considering options outside of Mercedes in the coming years for his F1 seat.
Despite being called on from Williams in 2022 due to his constant outperforming of the car, his contributions have been inconsistent. Being second driver behind the great Lewis Hamilton for 3 seasons gave him the benefit of the doubt, but when Hamilton declared his surprise move to Ferrari in 2025, Mercedes looked to him as their senior driver – guiding 18-year old Kimi Antonelli.
Antonelli has been the talk of the paddock throughout the 2026 season, winning six races and earning nine podiums, making him the championship leader by 50 points to second place. Russell, on the other hand, has not been able to extract as much out of his W17, finding himself 59 points behind his teammate.
In an appearance on his podcast, Steiner suggested that due to his competitive issues at Mercedes, Russell may consider a move to another team as early as 2028. According to Steiner, Audi would be the top pick for the Briton.
“There’s a lot of interest from drivers to go to Audi for 2028,” he said. “For next year they are pretty set, but there’s maybe a possibility in 2028 at Audi.”
Not only has Antonelli’s performance lately been putting pressure on Russell, but rumors of four-time world champion and current Red Bull driver Max Verstappen moving to Mercedes has also put another dent in his future there.
“I think George is also looking around now, knowing that he’s now with Kimi. He doesn’t want to stay with Kimi for the rest of his life, because he knows where he’s for the rest of his life,” Steiner explained. “So, he’s trying to find new opportunities.”
Audi took over Sauber as one of the new teams to join the F1 grid in 2026. Considering they are a new team with one veteran in German driver Nico Hulkenberg and a young talent in Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto, Russell could jump in if Hulkenberg decides to retire.
It would also make him the senior driver, but still young driver for a fairly new team, giving Russell the opportunity to be the face of Audi’s plans for the future rather than constantly fighting to save his legacy.