Mercedes star George Russell came out on Netflix’s F1 docuseries and presented his thoughts on Christian Horner’s sacking. The Briton alleged that Max Verstappen’s camp played a role in the former Red Bull Team Principal’s sacking.

The latest season of the Netflix Drive to Survive series is out, which covers all the action on and off track from the 2025 season. One of the biggest news stories from the 2025 season was Christian Horner’s sacking by Red Bull Racing midway through the season.

The same shook up the F1 community, given the timing of the departure, as Red Bull had a slow start to the season. As Horner was sacked following the accusations of harassing an employee in 2024 (later cleared) and a power struggle within the senior management, many believed that Max Verstappen’s camp, which includes his father Jos, Helmut Marko, and Oliver Mintzlaff, played a key role in the sacking.

Mercedes driver George Russell came out on the Netflix Drive to Survive docuseries and alleged that Verstappen’s camp played a significant role in Horner’s sacking.

“The Verstappens clearly have a lot of power in that team [Red Bull]. They like to manipulate situations quite a lot. For whatever reason, they don’t like Horner and they are trying to get Horner out. I wonder if all of this [the Verstappen to Mercedes rumours] is a bit of a play and a stir, trying to put pressure on Red Bull that he’ll only continue there if Christian is gone,” said George Russell

The Briton was rumored to be replaced by Max Verstappen, as the Dutchman was reportedly in talks with Toto Wolff for a 2026 seat. However, the four-time F1 champion decided to continue with Red Bull following Horner’s exit announcement, and George Russell also signed a contract extension.

Four-time F1 champion picks George Russell as the favorite to win 2026 title

Sebastian Vettel, who was Red Bull’s golden boy in the early 2010s, came out ahead of the 2026 season and was asked to make his championship favorite pick. The former Red Bull driver didn’t pick Max Verstappen, but instead claimed that George Russell & Mercedes have the best chances of claiming the title.

“On the one hand, based on what can be seen so far, it is probably not a bad choice to tip Mercedes. But quite deliberately, McLaren also runs Mercedes engines, and they have not done a bad job in recent years.” (via ServusTV’s Sport und Talk aus dem Hangar-7)

“However, I would pick George, because I consider him very intelligent, because I know how hard he works on himself, and because I think he is smart enough to understand what he personally can contribute as a driver to make the difference,” he added

Mercedes had the most laps during the second Bahrain preseason test at 432 laps and were always around the fastest lap time of the day, if not for setting the fastest lap time. However, George Russell came out during the testing, playing down Mercedes’ chances while pointing fingers at Red Bull’s power unit and top speed.