George Russell is convinced Lewis Hamilton would not have decided to switch to Ferrari had the choice been based on Mercedes’ current Formula 1 competitiveness.
Hamilton produced a substantial bombshell over the winter when he announced that he had activated an exit clause in his Mercedes deal to pursue a move to Ferrari.
The Briton’s decision seemed to be a masterstroke as Ferrari began the campaign as Red Bull’s closest challenger, while Mercedes struggled with an inconsistent car.
However, the momentum has since reversed as Ferrari has endured issues with upgrades as Mercedes has improved to seize five consecutive podiums and two wins.
Hamilton has capitalised on the German marque’s return to the sharp end to sandwich podiums in Barcelona and Budapest with a record ninth success at Silverstone.
Russell, who was victorious in Austria, is certain that his compatriot would have elected to remain with Mercedes had he known that this turnaround was on the cards.
“I don’t think he would have left if the team was performing like this,” Russell told Reuters. “No way he would have left, for sure not.
“For 2026 the PU [power unit] is looking really strong and everything we’re doing with the fuels is looking great and there’s a lot of optimism for us over the next couple of years.
“As tough as these last few years have been, it really feels like we’ve got the momentum with us now.”
But Russell admitted that he could understand Hamilton’s desire to end his F1 career with Ferrari, with the Briton having been with Mercedes’ works team since 2013.
“I think everybody wants change at some point,” he added. “He’s been here 12 years now, he’s achieved so much with the team. I think for him it’s exciting to have that change. But of course if the team you’re currently with are winning races and everything is looking super great for the future, you just want to be in the fastest car possible and it doesn’t matter what colour that is.”
Meanwhile, Hamilton stressed at the British Grand Prix that Mercedes and Ferrari’s contrasting fortunes were not making doubts creep in over his move next season.
“When we started the season we had a car where we weren’t going anywhere near Red Bull,” he acknowledged. The fact that we’ve really all come together, everyone’s done such a great job to get the car into a place where we’re feeling much more comfortable and really changes from the foundation from last year.
“So not leaving on a low, but leaving on a high, which has been our goal.”
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