Lewis Hamilton has been one of the most impressive drivers on the Formula One grid ever since he made his debut in 2007. After going close to winning the title in his first season, Hamilton quickly was back challenging at the very front in 2008 where he won the title in that dramatic Brazilian race.
George Russell will move to Mercedes for the 2022 Formula One Season in what is one of the most anticipated driver moves of all time. He has previously raced for the team in 2020 after Lewis Hamilton tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the Sakhir Grand Prix.
In that race, Russell was hugely impressive and without a Mercedes mess-up with the pit-stop, he probably would have gone on to win his debut race for the Silver Arrows.
There are many people both within the Formula One paddock and outside of the paddock that believes that George Russell will be a real contender for the title next season, and why would they be wrong?
His debut performance for the team showed that he can jump into a car for the first time and perform to the highest of levels, something many would struggle with.
Not only does Russell bring a high level of driving ability, but he has got a solid fanbase which was grown during his time at Williams.
His performances on a Saturday for Williams have been outstanding. The highlight would have to be the 2020 Belgian Grand Prix where he qualified on the front-row after narrowing being pipped to pole position by eventual World Champion Max Verstappen.
Russell has had to wait for his opportunity to get a race seat at Mercedes. He has been part of the Mercedes Junior Team since 2017 with Team Boss Toto Wolff stating at the time,
“George has shown impressive form in the junior categories and we’ve been keeping a close eye on him for a while now. It’s still early days in his career but we see great potential in him.”
In 2017, Russell competed in the GP3 Series (now FIA Formula 3) with ART Grand Prix. He convincingly won the series ahead of current Williams Reserve driver Jack Aitken.
For the following season, he made the step up to FIA Formula 2 and once again stormed to victory in a very competitive field. He was up against current McLaren driver Lando Norris, ex-Alpha Tauri, Red Bull and new Williams driver Alexander Albon and reigning Formula E Champion Nyck De Vries just to name a few.
For 2022, Lewis Hamilton will be aiming to claim back the title he lost in controversial circumstances in the final race of the 2021 season in Abu Dhabi.
He will be wanting to go out and make a statement, but with someone like George Russell ready to make an impression, can Hamilton remain the fastest driver in the team?
The British fans will be cheering on the German manufacturer of Mercedes next season along with McLaren and Lando Norris and once Silverstone comes back around it will be a historic weekend and we may even see three British drivers on the podium in their home race.