Smedley would have bet on Verstappen, not Russell.

      Rob Smedley is a former racing engineer with extensive experience at Ferrari and Williams, and subsequently worked with Formula 1 as a technical consultant.

      Smedley was participating in the new edition of F1 Nation, a podcast on the championship's official website, and was asked about George Russell's possible future prospects in the context of Mercedes' current situation.

      On the one hand, his contract with Mercedes expires this year, and Toto Wolff, the team leader, has already made it clear that he is interested in continuing cooperation. On the other hand, there are persistent rumors about Mercedes' interest in Max Verstappen if the Dutch driver decides to part ways with Red Bull.

      "It's a very difficult question," Smedley replied. – Because the four-time world champion is one of the very special riders, which are very few. He is able to squeeze more out of the car than it can actually give out.

      On Saturday in Miami, he did exactly that, and he started the race the same way. In general, if the decision depended on me, would I like Max Verstappen, and not some other driver, to drive one of my cars? Of course, I would like to, there is no doubt about it.

      Personally, I would rely on his talent, courage and determination. Everyone knows that in life he is only interested in racing. Everything else that surrounds Formula 1, from his point of view, is secondary nonsense.

      If there is an opportunity to invite an equally motivated, talented and determined person to the team – regardless of whether it is an engineer, a marketing specialist or a racing driver – you should definitely try to do this. After all, the key to success in Formula 1 is to bring together talented people and organize their work so that they do the same thing.

      A talented driver like Max will make the team give 101% every day and work seven days a week."