“I have already had to deal with Lewis Hamilton” : George Russell says he will not stop Max Verstappen’s move to Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari next season has sparked several rumors about George Russell’s partner at Mercedes for the coming year. Red Bull driver and three-time World Champion Max Verstappen is among the several drivers rumored to be candidates for the Mercedes seat next season.
Toto Wolff and Mercedes have already expressed their desire to have the Dutchman on board, however, it depends on Max Verstappen’s current contract situation at Red Bull. George Russell has cleared the air regarding his stance, stating that he will not stop Max Verstappen from joining the Silver Arrows.
The British driver stated that he has had to compete with one of the greatest drivers of all time, Lewis Hamilton during his tenure at Mercedes. Hence, he already has enough experience of being alongside a multi-time world champion.
“I have already had to deal with the driver who has the most pole positions and the most victories in F1 I would not shy away from a comparison with Verstappen nor would I veto his arrival. The only thing I can do is compete,” said Russell.
“I want to remain faithful to Mercedes” : George Russell
George Russell has made it clear that he wants to be at Mercedes despite their struggles during the past couple of seasons. The young British driver joined Mercedes in 2022, as they have managed to win just one race since then, which was George Russell’s victory in Brazil in 2022.
George Russell backed his stance by saying that the Silver Arrows backed him, and gave him an opportunity to race alongside Lewis Hamilton. He also stated that McLaren have turned around their fortunes this season, and have made some real progress in catching up to Red Bull and Ferrari.
George Russell believes that a turnaround for Mercedes is also possible, given that the new regulations kick in from 2026. “Lately F1 has had the Verstappen era, but for six years it had to wait for. I want to remain faithful to Mercedes who gave me the opportunity to race in F1, but I want to become world champion. At the moment we are not the best team, but McLaren a year ago were at the back of the group and now they are the fastest .”
