George Russell reveals 'at risk' worry during Max Verstappen to Mercedes limbo

George Russell has conceded Mercedes' pursuit of Max Verstappen put his future with the F1 team "at risk", conceding his and its interests may not have been "aligned" during the period.

The British driver acknowledged how Toto Wolff's designs of prising the four-time F1 drivers' champion away from Red Bull fostered an environment that was "not the most assuring" for himself and rookie team-mate Kimi Antonelli.

The Mercedes team principal has now stated he wants to continue with his current pairing, but that development only came just prior to Verstappen becoming unable to activate a break clause in his contract that could have released him to join the Brackley-based squad.

He could have triggered the clause if the Dutchman had found himself outside the top three in the drivers' standings by the summer break.

However, with Russell, sitting 28 points adrift in fourth with just the Hungarian Grand Prix to run before the shutdown, Verstappen is tied into another season in Milton Keynes.

A move in 2027 remains a possibility, but it ensures that the four-time grand prix winner and Antonelli will continue with Mercedes next term.

And despite claiming he never "feared" for his immediate Mercedes future, Russell's comments now expose some of his more unguarded feelings towards the saga.

Both the 27-year-old and his young team-mate are essentially managed by the team, or larger entity, which produces an intrinsic conflict of interest, especially during the courtship of another driver.

When asked if it may be necessary to take his career into his own hands, and away from Mercedes' structure in the future, Russell reflected on the precarious position he has found himself in.

"For my whole career until last year, the team have supported me so much and given me such amazing opportunities - and our goals have been aligned, and what has been in the best interest of the team has also been in the best interest of me," he told the media, including RacingNews365.

"Now, of course, these last six months have been a very unique situation where I don't have a huge power in that sort of agreement, and maybe the interests were not aligned for some time. Which has, of course, put me at risk for these last six months.

"Then it was my job to perform and reduce that risk."

A 'conflicting' lack of assurance

Addressing the question more head-on, Russell expressed his desire for his career management to remain the same.

"I don't know, to be honest," he added. "I don't wish for it to come to anything like that."

The 2018 F2 champion also shared he still trusts Wolff and Mercedes, so long as he is still performing.

That has not been an issue for him this season as one of the stand-out performers in the paddock, enjoying strong form despite experiencing recent difficulties with the W16.

Nonetheless, he conceded things at Mercedes had been difficult for himself and Antonelli with a lack of assurance over their futures.

It is a revelation that comes only days after Nico Rosberg opened up on Wolff's disappearing tactics during contract negotiations, something the German described as "horrible" to experience.

"I still trust Toto and I still trust in the team that they will always support me as long as I am performing, so that's what I need to focus on," Russell said.

"But of course, for both Kimi and I, these past months have not been the most assuring for our future - and that's just been a bit conflicting."