[Rtrorkt]

From a BBC article

"Is it conceivable that Mercedes could ditch George Russell in favour of Max Verstappen for 2026? Irrespective of Max's pedigree as a multiple world champion, bringing him in to replace George would be incredibly harsh on a driver who has performed pretty much flawlessly so far this year. -


Yes, it's conceivable. We have summed up the situation with Mercedes in an earlier piece.
It was already well known that Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was likely to explore his options with Verstappen this summer - as he did last year. And it was Russell who broke this situation out into the open before the Austrian Grand Prix, by saying it was "only normal that conversations with the likes of Verstappen are ongoing".
Russell has driven an exceptional season so far. But Verstappen is regarded as the best driver in the world. Wolff is talking to him and his management to work out whether a deal is do-able and desired by both parties.

If the answer to that is yes, Wolff then has to decide who would be Verstappen's team-mate. It would likely be Kimi Antonelli, in the interests of creating the best balanced team.
Relations between Verstappen and Russell are tense, and it's hard to imagine them working as team-mates.

Yes, that would be harsh on Russell - just as it was harsh on Carlos Sainz when Ferrari decided they preferred to sign Lewis Hamilton for 2025. But it would also be understandable from Mercedes' point of view.
As for Red Bull, team principal Christian Horner has emphasised that Verstappen has a contract until 2028.
"The rest," as Horner put it, "is all noise that's not coming from him."
Noise, perhaps. But it happens to be true."

Seems VER fits better with the thugs at RB than with Merc. Toto may be just as ruthless as Horner, but his beside manner is better. How does VER fit into the Merc culture.

It is a shame that RUS would not get a top tier ride since I don't seem him being a Horner/Helmut type and McLaren is set, unless Lando does something beyond stupid. Ferrari seems not able to out of their own way. Someone said RUS with Newey might be interesting, but RUS would need to agree to a multi year effort.

VER might be the best technical driver, but he is fundamentally a bully.

Just my 2 cents