'It's much too early to designate a number one driver at Mercedes'

George Russell is doing a great job according to Marc Surer. The former Formula One driver is impressed with the performance of the young Briton who made the switch from Williams to Mercedes last winter.

Russell started his first full season with Mercedes in 2022, having already been allowed to fill in for corona-infected Lewis Hamilton for one race in 2020. Now Russell drives with Hamilton as a teammate and he does not do so without merit. In the first three races of 2022 he managed to score points each time and in Australia he was on the podium for the first time as a Mercedes driver.

Not yet a number one at Mercedes

Surer sees that Russell barely needs time to adjust to the new environment. "He is immediately there," says the Swiss in conversation with Formula1News.co.uk. With 34 points, Russell currently occupies the second spot in the drivers' standings and is thus above Hamilton. However, according to Surer, it is far too early to talk about a possible number one status.

Surer thinks that without the bad luck Hamilton had in the opening races of 2022, the Mercedes duo would be at about the same level in terms of points. In Saudi Arabia, Hamilton started far back after a misalignment, and in Australia, Russell was lucky with the safety car, which meant he lost less time with his pit stop.

Hamilton far from beaten

Despite Hamilton's unfortunate weekends, Surer does not want to take anything away from Russell's performance. "It’s much too early but he is doing a tremendous job but to beat Hamilton, there is a long way to go," Surer concludes.