Russell takes little notice of pressure at Mercedes

George Russell will enter his first full season with Mercedes in two weeks' time. Although it is his first season driving at a top team, he is not suddenly putting more pressure on himself. He emphasizes that in conversation with Formule1.nl.

The German racing team decided last calendar year to look for a replacement for Valtteri Bottas. The Finn just couldn't manage to compete with Lewis Hamilton, so it seemed better to Mercedes to allow another driver to compete with the Brit.

With Russell, Mercedes found a good option. The driver, who last season still competed for Williams, showed an excellent racing performance in 2021 and thus brought himself to the attention of Mercedes. After several talks, both parties came to a deal, which led to his decision to leave Williams.

Russell also stepped into a Mercedes car once in 2020. Indeed, when Lewis Hamilton contracted the coronavirus just before the Sakhir Grand Prix, he was suddenly given the opportunity to race for the German formation once. Although he found it a great experience to live through, hardly anything changed for him. "For me, that was just a race," Russell said.