GEORGE RUSSELL admitted he would “understand” if Max Verstappen quit Formula One — and insisted no driver was bigger than the sport.

Verstappen has been a huge critic of F1’s new rules — comparing them to Mario Kart — and hinted at the last round in Japan that he could walk away.

It also emerged earlier this month that the four-time world champion’s long-term race engineer and close ally Gianpiero Lambiase was leaving Red Bull for rivals McLaren.

But Russell said: “Formula One is bigger than any driver. You wouldn’t want to lose Max because we all enjoy racing against him.

“But he has achieved what most drivers dream of, which is winning a world championship and he has got four of them, and at the end of the day, you get to a point where there isn’t much more for him to achieve.

“He has ticked all the boxes. Maybe he can go after the records? But knowing him as I do — and drivers who have won or achieved similar things — at one point you want to do what puts a smile on your face.

“My goal now is to become a Formula One world champion and if I had four of them under my belt, I would probably be doing the same [as Verstappen is].

“He is in a very different stage of his career and I would understand if he if stayed and also understand if he went.”

Verstappen’s contract with Red Bull runs until 2028, but performance-related clauses would allow him to leave before then.

The Dutchman is ninth in the drivers’ world championship, having scored just 12 points from the opening three races, with Red Bull a long way from the all-conquering team which provided him with the machinery to dominate the sport.

And Russell added: “I didn’t enjoy driving the 2022 [Mercedes] car when it was porpoising up and down and killing everybody’s backs.

“The car was big, heavy and not very pleasant in the high-speed corners, but he [Verstappen] didn’t have the same complaints because he was winning.

“Now, the complaints he currently has are different to the complaints of Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren because we are at the front end of the grid. This is only natural and you do understand and recognise his frustrations.”

Verstappen has long been linked with Russell’s seat. However, the British driver insisted he would continue to race for Mercedes beyond this season.

Russell said: “I will be here next year with the team and that’s that. I have a multiyear deal [at Mercedes] and there’s not much more to say.”

Russell trails team-mate Kimi Antonelli in the standings by nine points.

The season resumes again in Miami on May 3 after an enforced five-week break following the cancellation of the races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia due to the conflict in the Middle East.

Antonelli admits his start to the season has changed the perspective, saying: “It has been a better start that we anticipated and hoped for, at least on my side. It has been a very strong start to the season.

“Expectations automatically are a bit different now. But I still try to keep the same mindset that I had in the first three races. Keep focusing on what I have to do, the goal and try to put myself in the best position possible to achieve a great result.

“What I don’t want to do is think about the final result or long-term result. I want to focus on the present and little by little try to raise the bar because George is super strong and competitors will get closer.”