George Russell believes Max Verstappen joining Mercedes would more likely be a "lose-lose" situation for the Dutchman than for him.
The 27-year-old, who has revealed there is a performance clause in his favour for 2027 written into his recent contract extension, would "relish" the prospect of partnering the four-time F1 drivers' champion.
Not one to shy away from a challenge, Russell stepped up to the Red Bull driver late last year, calling him a "bully" after they clashed in qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix. The initial incident on track triggered a war of words.
The hostilities continued over the rest of the weekend and spilt over into the subsequent round, the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Now, almost a year on, Russell said the pair are "fine" with each other when discussing their relationship with The Telegraph.
"We just say hello to each other. We don’t really speak," the five-time grand prix winner explained.
"But we don’t ignore each other. I don’t lose sleep over it. And for sure, he doesn’t lose sleep over it. So it doesn’t bother me one single bit."
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Russell: 'You don’t need to be best mates as team-mates'
There is no love lost between the pair, which was an intriguing backdrop to Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff's concerted efforts to prise Verstappen away from the Milton Keynes team.
The Austrian's charm offensive started early in 2024, after Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari switch had been confirmed, but ramped up a level this year.
Often referred to as "flirting" by Wolff, the 53-year-old has since acknowledged he pushed the situation too far, as contract negotiations with Russell and Kimi Antonelli were put on the back burner.
It was the British driver who first outed the ongoing talks between his boss and Verstappen. Aside from the delay it caused to his own renewal, it fundamentally put his Mercedes future in jeopardy, with his young team-mate widely believed to be the priority for the Brackley-based squad.
Discussions between Wolff and Verstappen ultimately culminated with the 68-time grand prix winner staying with Red Bull — for at least 2026.
But despite being contracted to the six-time constructors' champions until the end of 2028, there remains the possibility that Verstappen seeks out pastures new before that, which makes Russell's clause significant.
With the Briton having finally re-upped with Mercedes, it means the two could find themselves team-mates, if the silver arrows can find somewhere in F1 to let Antonelli, just 19 years old, continue to develop.
"Life is short. We’re all adults. We all learn from these experiences. You don’t need to be best mates as team-mates," Russell said about the chance of Verstappen joining forces with him.
"[Ayrton] Senna and [Alain] Prost weren’t good friends, and they still finished one-two. Lewis [Hamilton] and Nico [Rosberg], one-two. Obviously, Lewis and Fernando [Alonso] is a notable exception. But Lewis should have won that year [2007].
"So yeah, Max is an incredible driver. There’s no denying that. But that’s why I would relish going up against him. We all believe we’re the best."
Russell also believes Verstappen would feel similarly about the hypothetical, but was quick to highlight that the four-time F1 drivers' champion would have more to lose.
"I don’t see why he wouldn’t… I mean, it’s obviously more of a lose-lose situation for him," he said. "The same as when I was team-mates with Lewis.
"If he beat me, he was expected to. But if he lost to me, yeah, it’s seen as a big loss. Or the same with me and Kimi now. But I mean, we’re getting well ahead of ourselves here..."
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