Oct.28 (GMM) George Russell is facing more criticism over his difficult season, with former Formula 1 driver Vitaly Petrov suggesting 2027 could determine whether he remains on the grid at all.
Dr Helmut Marko recently claimed Russell has effectively been relegated to permanent number 2 status at Mercedes behind Kimi Antonelli, prompting Toto Wolff to defend the Briton and insist the current car simply does not suit him.
Petrov is less convinced.
“We’ll see what happens in the Mercedes team’s internal battle next season,” he said.
“I think this will be a crucial year for Russell. He can’t fall behind! If he doesn’t make it, I think George could be out of Formula 1 altogether,” Petrov wrote in his column for Russian outlet Championat.
He went even further.
“I’m 99 percent sure that if they have another unsuccessful season, Mercedes will take on a new driver to replace Russell,” said the former Renault driver.
“And I’m not sure any other team will be interested in George.”
Meanwhile, Mercedes’ delayed power unit upgrade is still not ready.
Auto Motor und Sport reports that the improved turbocharger originally expected around Austin will not appear during the current Mexico-Brazil triple header.
A customer team source told the German publication that the update is not planned for any of those races.
That leaves Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi as the remaining opportunities.