At first, Mercedes found themselves in disarray because of Lewis Hamilton’s shock move to Ferrari. Although, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff admitted they’re focusing all their energy on Kimi Antonelli.
So, instead of waiting a year, the Italian prodigy might be included in the team starting from 2025. However, that made the hosts of The Red Flags podcast ask where does that leave George Russell in a chat with Guenther Steiner.
Currently, it appears Russell has become the favored son at Brackley. However, with loose translation, Wolff suggested the 17-year-old is the favorite son and the future of the team.
The hosts asked Steiner what effect such statements have on the psyche of a driver already part of the team. To this, the former Haas boss highlighted how there are plenty of options on the grid for a driver of Russell’s caliber.
He corroborated his answer with Hamilton’s example and said, “I think they can live with that. I don’t think that does anything. I mean, if you do a good job, somebody like George will find a job somewhere else.”
“I mean, you know, you can’t be the favorite. But tomorrow you are the favorite somewhere else. Look at Lewis. Lewis was the chosen (one at) Mercedes. Now he’s the chosen (one at) Ferrari. There’s always a second life?”
Formula 1 is all about constant change and Hamilton has proved change can do wonders for a driver’s career. So, if the 26-year-old British driver falls out of favor with Mercedes, it’s not the end of the world.
Certainly not the end of his F1 life as there are other teams who would want to secure his services. Where? That’s a conversation for later but for now, Russell’s been upholding the high standards expected of an F1 driver.
Guenther Steiner believes George Russell has been performing well despite the Canadian GP errors
Mercedes shocked the grid with their surprise pace on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Adding to the shock factor, George Russell qualified on pole position for the race.
However, he fluffed his lines one too many times in the race and could only manage a P3, a disappointing result for someone starting from the front in one of the fastest cars. Regardless, Steiner believes he did a good job despite the errors which is just a natural human behavior when put under pressure.
He said, “I think he did a very good job this weekend. Obviously, in the race, there was a few mistakes and things. But how much is he on the edge with the car?
“As you said before, the car before that race was not the fastest car out there. So maybe he had to push harder than the other ones. And harder you push, easier it is to make mistakes.”
The host added to his defense by pointing out he is outqualifying his seven-time champion teammate by 8-1 so far. This output from the 26-year-old has been incredible. Once he gets a grip on his car and extracts its performance, the #63 driver might just be challenging the front runners on a regular basis.
