George Russell, the world title in his sights: "I know my time will come"

Among the favorites for the title in 2025, many will cite Max Verstappen, Lando Norris or, Charles Leclerc…but what about George Russell? The Briton has plenty of arguments to sell this season: at 27, the King's Lynn native is reaching maturity, within a team that he must now lead with the departure of Lewis Hamilton in Ferrari. A team that has supported him since his early years and that has taken him from promotion formulas to a seat in Formula 1, until his first Grand Prix victories.

Now the next step is the world title, and George Russell has no shortage of ambition. “I know my time will come. And I just have to make sure that I continue to perform. And whether it’s this year or next year, it will come., "We are very proud of our work," the Mercedes driver said in an interview with the BBC.. And if I continue to produce these results, like I have done the last three years against the best driver of all time, I think I will put myself in the race and hopefully get a world championship to my name." 

"In another era, if you finished ahead of Hamilton, you were world champion"

In 2024, the Englishman had a great campaign with two victories in Austria and Las Vegas… as well as a victory withdrawn at Spa-Francorchamps after disqualification for a minimum weight violation. Above all, George Russell dominated his now ex-teammate on all levels, whether in qualifying or in the race, with a net score of 19 to 5 in favor of the n°63 on the qualifying exercise. Over the last three seasons, since his arrival at Mercedes In 2022, George Russell has more than matched Lewis Hamilton, especially in 2024. For the 27-year-old driver, the results established over the last three years show that he has the potential to become world champion in the near future.

“The results speak for themselves. And I have nothing to prove or show. I am proud of the results I have achieved against someone like Lewis, underlines the Briton. At the end of 2021, statistically and in terms of perception, Lewis was the greatest of all time. And I spent three years against the greatest of all time, and I finished ahead of him in two of the three years I was his teammate. And I finished ahead of him more times in qualifying and more times in races. (3 wins to 2 in favor of Russell, 34 to 34 in the race, 39 to 29 in qualifying, Editor's note.). In another era, if you finished ahead of Lewis Hamilton, you were world champion. The only one to have achieved this feat during the period of Mercedes domination was Nico Rosberg in 2016.

Russell to become team leader at Mercedes

Now, after Lewis Hamilton's departure, George Russell will have to face a teammate of a completely different caliber in Andrea Kimi Antonelli. At 18, the Italian will make his Formula 1 debut: George Russell has never had a teammate younger than him since his F1 debut in 2019. The Briton will therefore have to assume and ensure a new role: that of team leader, at the helm of the Mercedes boat. "A page is turning. It's a new chapter. And I don't suddenly feel invested with an additional responsibility," puts the King's Lynn driver into perspective, as if to show that he was already taking on this role last year against Lewis Hamilton.

After promising winter tests, where he set the 3rd absolute time of the tests behind Carlos Sainz and… Lewis Hamilton, will George Russell be able to confirm the expectations around him and Mercedes in 2025? Faced with Verstappen, Norris and Leclerc, we will certainly have to count on Russell to play the party pooper.

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