Mercedes acquisition Russell praised: 'Great reference to have'

George Russell leaves for Mercedes next season. It is a disappointment for Nicholas Latifi who learned a lot from his teammate during his time at Williams.

The Canadian is trying hard this season to reach the level of his teammate, but so far Russell scored more than double the number of points in the world championship. "Obviously, I think George has been a great reference to have," Latifi told Motorsport.com. "I mean he's someone that you know who nine times out of 10, or maybe even nine and a half times out of 10, is always going to get very close to the maximum out of the car in a lot of the sessions, and in qualifying in particular."

Latifi is confident about next season, however, when he will be in the same team with Alexander Albon. "So that's not to say that I don't think my new teammate won't be capable of doing the same, but I think that reference has been quite strong, so it's obviously been something quite beneficial for me to learn from, especially as I'm early in my career, just as he is."

Russell will succeed Valtteri Bottas at Mercedes in 2022, who is leaving for Alfa Romeo. Since announcing his departure, the Finn has been doing remarkably better than Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton who are jointly fighting for the world title.