Trouble for George Russell as Helmut Marko identifies big F1 2025 ‘danger’

Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko is convinced that Andrea Kimi Antonelli “can be a danger” to George Russell at Mercedes during the F1 2025 season.

Mercedes will field a revised driver lineup for F1 2025 with Antonelli stepping up from F2 to become Russell‘s new team-mate following Lewis Hamilton’s switch to Ferrari.

George Russell under threat at Mercedes in F1 2025?

Antonelli, 18, is widely regarded as the most exciting driver to arrive in F1 since reigning four-time World Champion Max Verstappen made his debut aged 17 a decade ago.

Russell enjoyed the most successful season of his career in F1 2024, collecting two victories in Austria and Las Vegas, where he dominated from pole position.

However, the British driver finds himself fighting for his future at Mercedes with his current contract believed to expire at the end of F1 2025.

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It is expected that Mercedes will renew their interest in Verstappen ahead of the major F1 2026 rule changes, potentially leaving Russell at risk of being replaced.

Antonelli made his F1 race weekend debut in FP1 at the Italian Grand Prix, less than 24 hours before he was confirmed as Hamilton’s successor, with the youngster showing impressive pace before crashing out at Parabolica.

Marko believes Antonelli could emerge as a serious threat to Russell as he gains experience over the course of his rookie season in F1 2025.

He told Germany’s Sport.de: “We saw it [Antonelli’s talent] at Monza, although I don’t understand why they put him in the car on that circuit.

“He was very fast on his first three laps, but on the fourth lap, he went into the barriers.

“I think if he uses his skills well, which he has, he can be a danger to Russell.”

Antonelli’s rapid rise has attracted comparisons with Verstappen, who was promoted to Red Bull’s senior team after just four races of his second full season, winning on debut for the Milton Keynes-based outfit at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix.

Verstappen went on to claim his maiden World Championship in 2021, dethroning Hamilton in highly controversial circumstances at the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

Marko believes Mercedes’ decision to fast track Antonelli to an F1 seat is “a risk” with the Italian under more pressure than Verstappen was back in 2015 as a result of starting his career with a leading team.

He added: “Antonelli is a risk, but we also took that risk with Verstappen in the past.

“Max was very young when he got into that car. But in his case, he wasn’t in a top team so he had less pressure.”

Appearing on Sky F1 last year, former Mercedes driver and F1 2016 World Champion Nico Rosberg claimed Russell is “not safe at all” at Mercedes amid the team’s lingering interest in Verstappen.

Rosberg went on to describe F1 2025 as a “shootout” between Antonelli and Russell if Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is successful in his pursuit of Verstappen for F1 2026.

He said: “George Russell is not safe at all because Toto still wants Max and he will try again for 2026 because ‘give up’ does not appear in Toto’s vocabulary.

“If Max does become available – and I do think it’s a possibility – then it is a shootout between George and Kimi next year.

“And it’s a lot of pressure on George because he really has everything to lose next year.

“He should be the one ahead internally because Kimi is 18 and he’s completely new and in a full-pressure situation.

“It’s not an easy situation there for George.”

Russell was briefly linked with a move to Red Bull at last year’s Singapore Grand Prix, where team principal Christian Horner claimed he “would be foolish” to rule out a move for the Mercedes driver for F1 2026.

However, Marko went on to cool any Red Bull interest in Russell, insisting the team would are more likely to promote their own talent from the team’s famed junior academy.

Red Bull will field a fresh-faced driver lineup for F1 2025 following the departure of Sergio Perez, with 22-year-old New Zealander Liam Lawson stepping up to become Verstappen’s new team-mate.

Lawson’s place at the Racing Bulls (previously VCARB) junior team has been taken by Isack Hadjar, the 20-year-old French-Algerian who finished second in the F2 feeder series last season.

Lawson’s promotion to Red Bull after just 11 F1 starts has seen him compared to Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon, who were both dropped by the team after damaging stints alongside Verstappen.

In an exclusive interview with PlanetF1.com at the end of last year (bottom), however, Lawson brushed off concerns that he could follow in the footsteps of Gasly and Albon.

But he conceded that he must be “realistic” ahead of his first full season, admitting that he is unlikely to beat Verstappen on a regular basis.

Lawson said: “I don’t know what they [Gasly and Albon] felt when they were there.

“You can always look at it as an outsider and think: ‘This is what it looks like they felt.’ But I don’t know what it was like for them.

“I believe, for anybody to go up against Max, you have to be realistic and know that he’s the fastest guy on the grid right now and that you’re not going to be outqualifying the guy by half a second.

“It’s not going to be something that’s really going to be happening. For me, it’s more the opportunity that’s there to learn from the best.

“For me as a driver, to be able to go in against the guy who’s won four world championships and is well seasoned… he’s been in that car for a long time.

“That car is almost… not developed around him, but he’s been a massive part of developing that car and understands it very well.

“In terms of how to drive it, it’s all right there on paper.

“When you see all the data that he brings in, for me as a driver to be alongside that, to be able to learn from him and have all that access, I think that’s what’s exciting for me about the opportunity.”

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