Another challenger for Verstappen in '25? 'Why not compete for the title?'

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russell expects title fight with red bull and verstappen in 2025
3 August at 15:00
Last update 3 August at 15:32
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  • Ludo van Denderen

Three wins in the last four Grands Prix. The Mercedes team are clearly on the rise, although of course there was the disappointment that George Russell lost his victory in Belgium (to his teammate, Lewis Hamilton). But it is mainly the trend that is so important for the German team: on the one hand becoming a factor at the front once again, while Max Verstappen's long-dominant Red Bull Racing seem to have stalled recently.

For Mercedes' drivers, it seems impossible to overtake Max Verstappen thanks to the Dutchman's lead in the last 10 Grands Prix of the season. But if next season everyone starts from zero again, then team principal Toto Wolff's team certainly see opportunities. In principle, George Russell will then be the obvious person within the team to hunt for the championship, following Lewis Hamilton's departure to Ferrari.

Russell is motivated for the battle in '25

"Yes, absolutely. Absolutely," Russell told GPblog about an upcoming title fight in which Mercedes is back in contention. "I think for all of us, It's been a difficult couple of years getting the car into a place where we can consistently fight for victories. But, you know, I'm so motivated, so excited for the second half of the season, which is ultimately building up towards 2025."

McLaren are not far off in terms of performance, while Mercedes are not inferior to Red Bull at the moment. Russell is also aware of this. "When you look at the competition now, there's no reason why we can't fight. And if the season started in Montreal, the championship standings would be looking very, very different. So it's going to be great. There's so much, I think there's so much motivation from all the other teams to get back to the front, from McLaren, from Ferrari, from ourselves. So for sure, it's not going to be easy. And hopefully we see a good fight on our hands into next year," Russell concluded.

This article was written in collaboration with Kada Sarkozi