Former Mercedes Principal Has Word For George Russell, Oscar Piastri

 

As the 2026 F1 season comes to a close, with three races remaining, former Mercedes principal, Guenther Steiner has something to tell George Russell, and Oscar Piastri ahead of next season. 

It has been a fantastic season for Mercedes, with Kimi Antonelli becoming the youngest F1 driver to win the Championship, ending Mercedes' F1 title drought since 2021. The team also won its first constructors' championship title after five years. 

Coming into the 2026 season, George Russell was the pre-season favourite driver, tipped to win the F1 Championship. The Brit started with an impressive performance, winning Australian Grand Prix - the opening race in Melbourne. That trajectory quickly took a new turn, as Antonelli swept past him, winning five consecutive Grand Prix to lead the driver's standings. Now, he is the F1 champion of the season. 

Unlike Mercedes, McLaren had a disappointing season. Lando Norris won two Grand Prix - the Brazilian Grand Prix, and the Hungarian Grand Prix - while Oscar Piastri's best performance was at the Japanese Grand Prix, where he made podium finish in P2. He also made podium finish in P3 at the Maimi GP. 

As for Steiner, in a statement, George and Piastri have not done enough. He believes they need to improve and make themselves prominent to avoid being relegated to "smaller teams" ahead of their contract in 2027. 

"Both of them have to show something," said Steiner. "Otherwise, they start to go to smaller teams or midfield teams. Because the big teams want the next big talent." 

He added: "if the don't perform, they will not hang around there.  Both [George and Piastri] of their contracts are up soon, so if they don't make it, they will break."

Russell was trailing Antonelli in the F1 drivers standings before Max Verstappen edged him out to be in second position with 279 points. The Brit dropped to third with 262 points. Piastri is way behind Russell. The Australian driver is seventh with 152 points. He is behind his teammate, Norris, who is sixth with 246 points.