George Russell cites beating Lewis Hamilton in 2022 as an example of what Kimi Antonelli could potentially achieve at Mercedes in his rookie season
Mercedes driver George Russell cited his example of beating Lewis Hamilton in the 2022 season as an example of what Kimi Antonelli could achieve in his rookie season at the German team next year. The 18-year-old Italian driver will join the Brackley-based outfit to replace the seven-time F1 world champion, who is leaving the team to join Ferrari in 2025.
For the first time since entering the sport in 2010, Mercedes would have both their academy drivers in the main seat with Russell and Antonelli. The F2 driver, having been fast-tracked by team principal Toto Wolff, carries significant expectations due to his impressive junior career and early promotion to a permanent seat.
Speaking with Sky Sports, George Russell was confident that Kimi Antonelli would thrive in his rookie season with Mercedes and believed that Wolff had shown faith in the Italian's abilities. While comparing his first season with the German team to the Italian driver's, he said:
"If you're in a top-tier seat, if he wouldn't be putting me under pressure I don't think Toto would have put him in that role in the first place. I think that's the same as when I came up against Lewis in my first year."
"Lewis came off the back of winning 6 years out of 7 in a row with the team. Who maybe would've thought that a young kid coming from Williams would beat Lewis Hamilton in his first year as his teammate."
George Russell analyzes his P4 finish at the Qatar GP
Mercedes driver George Russell stated that it was a very strange race at the Lusail International Circuit on Sunday night, where he finished P4 after starting from P1 at the Qatar Grand Prix.
On the team's official website, the three-time race winner cited the difference in the W15's performance from Saturday to Sunday and reflected:
"It was a very strange race because our pace had been so strong all weekend, but it just didn’t seem to be there today. Overall, my race wasn’t great, I had a bad start then a poor pace, and finally a penalty at the end of the race.
"The car was great all day Friday and yesterday so we need to understand where that pace went for us today. Both Lewis and I made bad starts and we have some idea why, but we need to fully understand how we lost the performance that we showed in the Sprint."
George Russell extended his gap over his teammate Lewis Hamilton in the driver's championship as the latter could only manage to finish in P12. He currently sits in P6 with 235 points, while the seven-time world champion has 211 with only one race remaining in the 2024 season.