Mercedes praises George Russell's leadership this season

While he was carrying the stable Williams on his shoulders during his first three seasons in Formula 1, the Briton teamed up with the seven-time world champion for three more years Lewis Hamilton. Enough to take the pressure off Russell, who certainly didn't shy away from the challenge of battling the man with the sport's greatest track record. Winner of his first Grand Prix in Brazil in 2022, George Russell learned from his experienced teammate, so when it came time to step into the driver's seat, alongside young Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the former champion of F2 had no trouble making the transition.

This is what Andrew Shovlin, director of track engineering, explained to several media outlets in Japan, and whose comments were reported by the official F1 website. "Within the team, he is very calm. He seems very confident. He did a good job in the first races, which is very encouraging.", he added, with Russell having finished on the podium in the first two Grands Prix this season, in Australia and China.

“He seems very relaxed in his position within the team now and is just going for the points, trying to qualify as well as possible. The front row in China was very encouraging. He is pushing us to improve and he is doing a lot of work himself. We always knew he was fast but, in his own approach, he has brought a confidence and calmness this year that suits us perfectly. If you look at the race in Melbourne, George was communicating very well with us about the weather conditions and how he was feeling in the car.”

A mentoring role with Antonelli?

Now in his seventh Formula 1 season, George Russell can also use his experience to help his teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The 18-year-old Italian, who has finished in the points in each of his first three F1 Grands Prix, is working very well with his elder brother, according to Shovlin. The King's Lynn native is playing the team game perfectly so far, which is also made easier by the fact that Mercedes does not yet constantly play the leading roles, rather reserved for McLaren and Max Verstappen.

“Those two work together and George tries to give him the benefit of his experience. I would say George has adapted perfectly to this role of being the most experienced driver in the team. We were using a lot of his information to copy the strategy from Kimi's side in Australia because, for Kimi, a lot of things were new. But it's really nice to see how the two of them work together, and how George has invested himself in this role.”

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