Russell's aiming for Mercedes seat: 'They've got the junior program for a reason'

Helmut Marko is often criticised for being too hard on his young talents. On the other hand, Red Bull does ensure that talents get a chance in Formula 1, where other teams choose the safe path.

Since its arrival in Formula 1, Red Bull Racing has shown that it is not afraid to choose its own talent. Many guys have already been written off, but with the current four drivers, Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz and Sebastian Vettel on the grid, almost half of the Formula 1 field has come from the support of Red Bull.

Mercedes, on the other hand, has not yet been able to produce any talent in its own team. Pascal Wehrlein was served off, Esteban Ocon has a spot at Renault and George Russell has to make do with a spot at Williams. However, the latter is now making himself heard, now that the battle for the spot at Mercedes is open.

"Mercedes doesn't have a junior program for nothing. Like Red Bull and Ferrari, the goal is to lead someone to the main team. Of course it all has to do with timing, because with Lewis and Valtteri the team has two good drivers and they win titles, so there will be a part of them thinking that they don't have to change'", says Russell at Sky Sports.

But Russell is hoping for an opportunity at Mercedes. ''When you look at Ferrari, they choose young talent as Red Bull does. Stability for a team is of course important, but you also have to look ahead and then of course young people have the future", concludes Russell his plea for a seat at Mercedes in 2021.