Russell quickly brushes aside Hamilton's experience: 'Great driver'

Mercedes announced last week the long expected news that George Russell will be Lewis Hamilton's teammate next season. The young driver from Williams takes over from Valtteri Bottas who in turn makes the move to Alfa Romeo. The German team seems to be preparing Russell to follow in Hamilton's footsteps.

Russel has already shown what he can do in recent years. At the Sakhir Grand Prix in 2020 he replaced Lewis Hamilton and battled for the front places for quite some time. This season at Williams he showed that he can achieve a lot even with a lesser car. Although his teammate Nicholas Latifi was often found in the back, Russell worked hard to score points for Williams.

The Brit certainly didn't get his seat at Mercedes for free, according to Tim Coronel. "I personally have a very good feeling about this switch, because he has earned this," he says in an exclusive interview with GPblog. "Russell is just a great driver who fits in well with Mercedes and will do well next season. In addition, I think Hamilton is going to be scratching himself behind the ears."

For Russell, the move to Mercedes is a dream come true. As a child, the driver received an autograph from Hamilton, while the pair are now teammates. "In the beginning Hamilton's experience will certainly count on the track, but Russell will quickly develop. I'm sure there's some form of mutual respect between those two, on the other hand as a driver you release that on the track. Then it simply becomes racing."

Although the 23-year-old Russell will be joining a completely new team next season, Coronel thinks it won't take long for the driver to perform. "He probably doesn't need the time, because he's coming in a nice place that is no stranger to him." Max Verstappen, Hamilton and Russell therefore seem to be going to make things difficult for each other, although Coronel warns against this image. "Then you reason from this car, but next season the cars will be closer together of course. It is also possible that another team will join the fray, such as McLaren."