It had long been clear that Mercedes would give an opportunity in 2022 to George Russell, putting him alongside Lewis Hamilton to replace Valtteri Bottas. The young English driver was made official at the beginning of September and next season he will form an all-British duo with the seven-time world champion. Undoubtedly talented and fast, Russell will be one of the next protagonists of Formula 1, having only 23 years and having shown that he adapts really quickly to the car in the 2020 Bahrain GP where he brilliantly replaced Hamilton – struggling with Covid. The Williams driver in fact finished second in qualifying just 26 thousandths from Bottas and led the first part of the race with authority, before being slowed down by a problem at the pit stop and a puncture that made him pass only in ninth place. at the finish.
“George is a very talented young man and we already have enormous mutual respect“, commented Hamilton in an interview granted to The Race, observing: “I think there is a good balance between us at the moment. I remember when I faced Fernando Alonso, of course I wanted to beat him from the first race. So I expect George to have that mentality, otherwise he wouldn’t be a winner. I think he will have this kind of mentality ”. And the expert champion gave Russell an important investiture: “There will be a point where I decide not to continue in this sport and he will be my teammate as well he will be the next Brit I want to see win the world championship. So I hope there will be competition between us, but I want to be number one and win on the track, and I hope I can have a positive influence ”.
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