Russell: 'P2 is very important, but car most important next year'

George Russell is having a reasonable season at Mercedes. Teammate Lewis Hamilton scored a lot more points, however, and is third in the world championship with 190 points. Russell managed 115 so far this season. Red Bull already became constructors' champion at Suzuka, but behind them there is still everything to fight for. Mercedes and Ferrari seem to call the shots when it comes to P2. But who will take this position?

First of all, Russell looks ahead to the weekend in Qatar in front of GPblog. "I think the sprint race mixes things up a little bit. McLaren are going to be really quick here, I think, as we saw in Suzuka," Russell reveals. "Obviously Max, as always, week in, week out, so that will be a challenge. Our fight is with Ferrari at the moment, P2 in the Teams Championship is our goal to achieve, so that's what we're chasing."

Russell on possible P2

"I think it's going to be close towards the end of the season," says the British Mercedes driver. "I think there have been a lot of missed opportunities on my side this season, so we should have had that sewn up already, but I'm confident we can secure that while still on the journey, putting a huge amount of emphasis on next year's car, because P2 is obviously very important, but making sure we hit the ground running next season is the most important," Russell said.

A few weeks ago, Russell and Hamilton renewed their contracts at Mercedes. For the seven-time world champion Hamilton, that means a Formula 1 career that continues beyond his 40th birthday. Even in 2024 and 2025, Hamilton will still have Russell alongside him. Who knows, maybe Mercedes can compete for the constructors' title again in those years.