George Russell is eager to prove a Mercedes chief wrong after they hinted he will never win as many world championships as Lewis Hamilton.
Bradley Lord – Mercedes F1’s Chief Communications Officer – recently discussed Hamilton’s imminent exit at the end of this year. He lauded the British icon’s achievements but went on to claim his record of six world titles with the Silver Arrows will not be beaten in the foreseeable future.
In a stunning twist, Hamilton confirmed in February that he’s joining Ferrari from 2025 onwards. Ahead of his 12th and final season with Mercedes, where he has won all but one of his championships, he opted to take on a new adventure – racing in the iconic red of Ferrari.
The 39-year-old’s titles put him level with Michael Schumacher as the most decorated driver in Formula One history.
His compatriot and team-mate Russell will step up as the leading man for the Brackley-based outfit in his absence – but there appears to be a belief within the team that Russell won’t reach Hamilton’s legendary status in the next 15 years.
Lewis Hamilton has already explained himself as George Russell convinced by his theory
Discussing Hamilton’s switch to Ferrari, Lord said:
“The way he said it to me, and to others, is he didn’t want to sit in his pipe and slippers in 30 years’ time and go ‘God I wish I had driven for Ferrari’, so when the opportunity came, he followed his gut.
“Yes it was difficult, complicated, surprising, but we understand it as a team. At Mercedes we know, if Lewis goes on to achieve his dream of that 8th title with Ferrari it’ll be the icing on the cake but the big chunk of that cake is always going to be Mercedes.
“In 10 years, 15 years’ time, he’s still gonna be the most successful racing driver this company and this team has seen.”
Russell, aged 26, has two victories under his belt in 117 races. Hamilton, on the other hand, boasts 104 wins in just over double the number of races, although he had only secured one of his titles at Russell’s age.
The younger Mercedes driver will be eager to prove Lord wrong, particularly given that he outperformed Hamilton in the 2022 season. However, Hamilton bounced back in 2023 and looks set to finish ahead once more this year.
Prior to Hamilton’s resurgence earlier this season, he hinted that Russell was receiving preferential treatment from the team due to his own impending exit. Russell, in turn, dismissed his childhood hero’s claim.
Speaking to Channel 4, he said: “I think that was probably comments in the heat of the moment, because he [Hamilton] knows full well that we get the same treatment.
“Lewis is a winner, and of course these years have been frustrating for all of us, but especially for him. He’s been used to winning every single season he competes in, and hasn’t won in three years. So as I said, it’s frustrating for him, it’s frustrating for all of us, but I’m sure he didn’t mean it as it came across.”
