F1: George Russell on Lewis Hamilton move, Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo and the future for Mercedes

With Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari next season, British driver George Russell’s holds the future hopes of Mercedes fans in his hands. Russell goes head-to-head with REBECCA WILLIAMS ahead of the Melbourne Grand Prix.

George Russell and Mercedes will farewell Lewis Hamilton at seasons end. Picture: Jason Edwards

Mercedes star George Russell is on a mission to get the Silver Arrows back to the top in F1. Ahead of this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, The British driver sat down with Rebecca Williams to discuss Mercedes, why he would welcome Max Verstappen as a teammate, the biggest issues facing the driving group and why the F1 grid needs Daniel Ricciardo and his wish for Albert Park to open the F1 season.

What are your expectations for your 2024 campaign? What do you think Mercedes and yourself capable of this year?

It’s been an interesting start to the season because this car has definitely shown more potential than we have seen from the last two seasons. We just really need to dial in that optimal set-up and then we will be able to show the full potential of what the car is capable of. Top step of the podium, we have got to do a lot of work to achieve that, but I definitely believe we can close that gap.

Russell in action during Saturday’s practice session. Picture: David Caird

How soon do you think Mercedes can be a championship challenger again?

I hope sooner than later. Everybody is working towards that. We see in Formula 1 things change very, very quickly. If you bring an update that over performs and your rivals bring an update that under performs, suddenly there can be a four-tenths swing. There is no doubt that we have got a mountain to climb, but we have got so many amazing people here in this team, it’s a challenge in sport and if it wasn’t, everybody would be standing on the top step of the podium. But we have got the infrastructure and the people to achieve that.

There will be a vacant seat alongside you at Mercedes for next year. Do you have any thoughts on who you would like to have as your new teammate to replace Lewis Hamilton?

I have got a few thoughts, but they will stay with me. I have said before, I have had Lewis Hamilton as my teammate, this is my third season alongside him. Statistically, the greatest driver of all time and I have enjoyed going up against the best. I am not fazed by anybody who would race alongside me. As always, you want to prove yourself against the best and I feel like these three years have given me that opportunity. So whether it were to be another world champion, or whether it were to be a rookie, or if somebody as a bit of a curve ball was thrown in there, it doesn’t faze me and it doesn’t change how I go about my business.

There has been speculation linking Max Verstappen to a Mercedes move as Hamilton’s replacement. How would you feel about having him as your teammate?

Max is an amazing driver and he is a good guy. There is never any sort of games with Max, he is just at a point he is a pure racer. So, as I said before, I want to go up against the best and Max is definitely one of the best ever. So, I’d love to have the opportunity to race alongside him at some point in my career. I joined Mercedes when Lewis was on the back of winning six championships with the team and scoring 80 race wins with this team. He finished ahead of me last year, I finished ahead of him the year before. I have proven myself against him and we are neck and neck. Last year qualifying was 11-11, the year before it was something similar. You can’t ask for a better benchmark. Absolutely, if you’ve had someone like Lewis as your teammate, I’m not scared of anything.

What was your reaction to the news of Hamilton announcing he was leaving to join Ferrari next year?

I was very surprised because I felt the story of him and Mercedes his whole life was such an amazing storyline. But I also appreciate people need new challenges sometimes and it’s a great opportunity for him and it’s a great opportunity for Mercedes as well because it’s turning a page in an amazing story. These things happen and everybody needs a bit of new extra motivation and sometimes that’s what change is good for.

Max Verstappen speaks to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Russell ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix earlier this month. Picture: Bob McCaffrey/Getty Images)

How much have you learned as a driver having Hamilton as a teammate?

I have learned a huge amount from Lewis. How he conducts himself with the team, how he works with his engineers. But ultimately we are two different drivers and you can take some inspiration of how a driver maximises his skillet on the racetrack and what techniques they may have. But I always use the tennis analogy of (Rafael) Nadal, (Roger) Federer and (Novak) Djokovic, I was using this when I think they all had 20 grand slams each. Three greats, but three very different tennis players and if you were a youngster and if there was only one of those greats, you would probably say ‘I need to play like Djokovic’. But the fact that there are three greats proves that there is not one way to success and you need to find what your road is and maximise your own potential rather than trying to copy what somebody else is doing.

What are your thoughts on the Australian pair on the grid, Oscar Piastri and Daniel Ricciardo?

Oscar has done a great job, Lando is his only benchmark and Lando is a fantastic driver, so he has done a really good job, you don’t see him making many mistakes. He obviously got that sprint race victory last year and he has been really impressive in his rookie season. Now it is his second year, more will be expected of him, but he definitely should be fighting with Lando and he is going to be around for many years to come. And Daniel, I’ve got to be honest I have not followed his results too closely since his return, but he is such a great guy. Everybody loves Danny and he is a personality that needs to be on the Formula 1 grid, so I hope that he gets his chance to fight in a race-winning team.

With your hat on as director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, what do you see as the biggest issue for the driving group and the sport?

The biggest issue is obviously the lack of competition. At the moment people are arriving to a race and you know who is going to be in the first two positions. We all want to have a chance of fighting for victory, that’s obviously maybe a bit far-fetched. From a driving aspect, a lot of drivers are struggling with how close the cars are running down the ground. We are running down the straight anywhere from 10mm to 30mm to the ground, so every single bump we are feeling through our spines, through our body when you are driving at 330km/h down the straight. You hit a bump, the car can put you into a spin, we saw it with Lando (Norris) in Las Vegas, Carlos (Sainz) in Abu Dhabi and it’s a little bit of an unnecessary issue that we are dealing with at the moment. For the fans, you can’t notice if the car is 15mm from the ground or 115mm from the ground as they were in the previous era. So I think we would all like to see that changed slightly for the next generation (cars).

Verstappen is flanked by Russell (L), and McLaren's Australian driver Oscar Piastri (R) before the Qatari Formula One Grand Prix in 2023. Picture: Giuseppe CACACE / AFP

What about the number of races on the F1 calendar, are there too many?

It depends who you ask. We are all doing what we love, I think the number of races is not such a big problem. I do think it just needs to be slightly more geographical. I think we have Australia, Japan, China, a 10-hour shift from Europe to Australia, we go back to Europe next week, a 10-hour shift back. Eight-hour shift forward to Japan the following week, eight hours back. Eight hours forward again to China, eight hours back. Seven hours the other direction to Miami the week after that. That is the biggest toll that we face. I think if you were to have said this is going to be a triple-header – Australia, Japan, China – we’d all be fine with that because we have had triple-headers before. Three weeks away, but your body is in one time zone, you’re not shifting so much, but the jet-lag, the shift for the body, the long flights, it isn’t healthy for the 4000 people that travel within Formula 1. But I’m doing what I love and I’d even work more.

Would you like to see Australia open the F1 calendar?

I think I would to be honest. We all get out early to Australia and when it was the first race of a season it was an added excitement and everybody was willing and happy to be there slightly earlier because of the adrenaline going into a new season. Whereas now, we’ve all been away three weeks, got back on the simulator, marketing events, sponsor events, away from home still and then you’re leaving on the Saturday and it feels quite a gruelling start to the season. Whereas I think when it’s race one, everybody is hyped and ready for it.

Russell arrives at Albert Park this week. Picture: Martin KEEP / AFP

Can you see a female driving breaking into F1 in the future?

One hundred per cent. I could. I think it is important that they are given a fair opportunity at grassroots and we see more. You just have to do the numbers and the probability is so small purely based on how few female drivers start going past the age of eight years old. I think I must have raced over 1000 different boys when I was a kid and I can maybe only think of three different girls who I raced from the age of eight to 15. But I think with the F1 Academy now it’s a great opportunity for females. We also need to see Formula 2 and Formula 3 change their cars slightly to give a chance to the females. Formula 2 cars are very, very physical to drive, the pedals, the steering wheel, they are all built around a male driver around a certain height and physique. And for a female coming in, they are already on the back foot to have an equal opportunity against the males. So I think that needs to be changed to give them an equal and fair opportunity for both male and female and to try to minimise the physicality setback it would potentially have on a female.

What are your hopes for this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix?

I am really excited. Melbourne is a place that I really enjoy coming to. The circuit I really love, especially since the changes they made for 2022. It’s fast and flowing and suits my driving style. So, I’m excited all in all.

Originally published as F1: George Russell on Lewis Hamilton move, Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo and the future for Mercedes