Feeling he's done a "pretty good job" in terms of having Lewis Hamilton as his teammate, George Russell says he would be happy to welcome Max Verstappen to Mercedes.

As the tawdry saga continues at Red Bull, among the various scenarios being envisaged once the fall-out gets underway is that Max Verstappen could leave the Austrian team, most likely for Mercedes.

Speaking as the Saudi Arabian weekend got underway, Russell said he would welcome the Dutchman as his teammate.

"I think any team would want to have the best driver line-up possible and right now Max is the best driver on the grid," the Briton told reporters. "So if any team had a chance to sign Max, they'll 100% be taking it.

"I think the question is more on the other side, on his side and on Red Bull's side," he continued, "obviously there's so much going on there, we don't know truly what's going on behind closed doors and ultimately it's none of our business right now. But it would be exciting.

"This is my third season now alongside Lewis, greatest driver of all time, and I feel like I've done a pretty good job alongside him," he added. "So whoever were to line up alongside me next year or the years to come I welcome anybody, welcome a challenge.

"You want to go against the best. But ultimately for me, I just focus on myself. I believe in myself. I believe I can beat anybody on the grid. You've just got to have that mentality. So having Lewis as my benchmark the last couple of years, it's been a pretty good benchmark for sure."