Rosberg: Mercedes needs to act quickly regarding Russell

Although Max Verstappen has a contract with Red Bull until the end of the 2028 season, there were rumors in previous weeks that he could move to Mercedes in 2026 due to an alleged exit clause in his contract.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff confirmed that they were in talks with Verstappen, but admitted that the Dutch driver was unlikely to switch to Mercedes in 2026 and said the team's priorities were George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.

After all this speculation, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko officially announced at the beginning of the week that Verstappen will race for Red Bull in the 2026 season: "Yes, I can confirm that Max Verstappen will race for Red Bull in 2026."

The alleged exit clause in Verstappen's contract would be triggered if he finished fourth or lower in the drivers' standings heading into the summer break.

However, he currently sits in third place with 185 points, with Mercedes driver George Russell in fourth place with 157 points.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo: Marcel van Dorst / EYE4images / NurPhoto via Getty Images

Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 Show podcast, Rosberg said: "It's good to finally get clarity on the issue of the exit clause. Even without it, we didn't know if he would have actually moved to Mercedes."

"It seems that this clause now obliges him to stay at Red Bull. Which still makes sense for him because it's very difficult to predict which team will be the strongest before the new technical regulations in 2026. But I'm confident that Red Bull will maintain its strong position."

Now that this is clear, we need to see what Mercedes will do. Will they act quickly? First, they need to extend George's contract. So, when will they officially announce Kimi Antonelli? I think they'll give it a little more time.