Former Ferrari engineer Rob Smedley said he would “100%” replace George Russell with Max Verstappen if he were in Toto Wolff’s shoes.

Four-time World Champion Verstappen is the hottest property on the grid and with his Red Bull future less than certain, a number of teams are vying to land his signature.

Max Verstappen backed to replace George Russell if Red Bull exit happens

A long-time admirer of the Dutchman has been Mercedes with Wolff trying to entice him from Red Bull and join ahead of the 2025 season.

With two seats in the team, it would be Antonelli or Russell to give way but considering the Briton is out of contract this year and Antonelli is seen by Wolff as the next Verstappen, it looks clear which driver would face the axe should Verstappen agree to join.

“Oh, that’s a very, very tough question because you’ve got a four-time world champion who is a guy who is one of those very, very special drivers and there’s very few of them who can drive over and above what the car can actually deliver,” he told the F1 Nation podcast.