“George is a warrior in and out of the car, we love having him in our team” Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said his team’s driver George Russell was among the top three drivers at the start of this year’s Formula 1 championship. Russell finished third in the first two races in Australia and China and is nine points behind championship leader Lando Norris from McLaren.
The Briton is the first Mercedes driver since Lewis Hamilton moved to Ferrari and is driving with young Kimi Antonelli, who is making his Formula 1 debut this season.
- I never give a ten out of ten, because I think he can always do better. It wasn’t a perfect race, but given the circumstances George had in China, he’s a ten out of ten. He got the most out of the car, the tires, the strategy and it was a brilliant drive. All this talk about Lewis, who is the biggest personality in this sport, moving to Ferrari is a great story, Kimi comes as the youngest driver and has great potential, and little has been said about George. I’ve always said that’s not right because he’s one of the best drivers. If you want me to name the three drivers I think are the best, he’s definitely in there, if not in the top two and maybe on his way to being the first. George is a warrior in and out of the car.
During the first two races, Russell, somewhat jokingly, told Norris that he thought he was the favourite for the title, perhaps to put more pressure on his compatriot.
Russell said in Australia that McLaren could already move to 2026, and ahead of the race in China he said that McLaren has a bigger advantage over the other teams than Red Bull had in their dominant 2023 season.
- They’re shaking their cage a little more. Based on Melbourne, that was a real statement. We were closer in China and after a few race weekends we have to analyse where we are, because on Saturday we would say that Ferrari’s dominance is back, as great as ever, and then on Sunday it would be a sideline. Russell does not have a contract for 2026, Wolff said earlier this year that Russell and Antonelli have “very complicated contracts”, suggesting that there are options to continue their cooperation.
Russell has been part of Mercedes since 2017 as a junior, spent three seasons at Williams, then returned to Mercedes from 2022.
- George is a Mercedes driver, we love having him in the team. He was a junior and a talent at Mercedes. I have something to be proud of and that’s what I’m focusing on – Wolff concluded.
