Nico Rosberg says George Russell's seat at Mercedes for 2026 "is not safe at all" with the Silver Arrows still likely to court reigning world champion Max Verstappen.
Team principal Toto Wolff confirmed over the weekend that 18-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli would replace the Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes next season.
Antonelli and Russell will both be out of contract at the end of 2025 and Wolff has made no secret of his admiration of Verstappen, although he told Sky Sports F1 on Saturday that his pursuit of the Red Bull driver had "paused" for now.
However, 2016 world champion Rosberg said: "George is not safe at all because Toto still wants Max.
"He will try again for 2026 because 'give up' does not appear in Toto's vocabulary. If Max does become available - and I do think it's a possibility - then it is a shootout between George and Kimi next year.
"It's a lot of pressure on George as he has everything to lose. He should be the one ahead at the team internally, because Kimi is 18 and he's completely new and in a full-pressure situation, so it's not an easy situation for George."
Rosberg's fellow Sky Sports F1 pundit Martin Brundle added: "Clearly Toto is hugely invested personally in Kimi and with him making these overtures to Max, I think George will occasionally be looking over his shoulder wondering where he stands.
"But he's the Mercedes team leader at a time when they seem to be really coming good again and if you have a future-proof pairing in George and Antonelli and they are getting the job done, you don't need to spend north of £50m on another driver."
Wolff rejects Russell-Antonelli 'shootout' suggestion
Wolff played down the idea of a shootout between Russell - who finished seventh at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday - and Antonelli in 2025, saying: "No. I very much hope we go a long time with these two. It is clear you always pick the best [drivers] but as it stands, that is the line-up.
"We have had an open channel over the last few years [with Verstappen]. Sometimes discussing more, sometimes discussing less, but it never came to putting terms together.
"We have a commitment to our drivers to give it our best effort so for the moment it is a pause."
Russell hopes to steer Antonelli though his debut F1 season as he steps up to senior man following Hamilton's decision to leave the team with whom he has won six of his seven world titles.
Russell said: "I look forward to using the experience I've gained from my own journey to provide guidance to Kimi as he makes the step up to F1.
"I know how much of a support Lewis was for me throughout my time as a junior driver and since I've been his team-mate. I've learned so much from him and hope to play a similar role for Kimi."
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