George Russell believes Lewis Hamilton leaving Mercedes after 12 years together in Formula 1 was needed for both parties to have a “fresh start”.
The 2025 season began with optimism for Mercedes, highlighted by multiple podium finishes and capped by Russell’s victory in Canada.
His rookie team-mate, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, meanwhile, also claimed his maiden podium at the same race, adding to the team’s early momentum.
Since Montreal, however, Mercedes has faced challenges following an ill-fated rear suspension upgrade introduced at Imola.
The modification led to unpredictable handling, prompting the team to revert to a previous setup ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The decision proved effective, with Russell securing a podium whilst Antonelli recovered from a poor qualifying to finish in the points, signalling a positive shift in form.
Conversely, Hamilton’s switch to Ferrari has proved far from straightforward.
Despite early optimism, including a Sprint Race win in China, he has struggled to adapt to the SF-25 and consistently lagged behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
In Budapest, the seven-time World Champion faced another challenging weekend, prompting self-critical remarks and fresh questions about his F1 future.
Yet Russell remains adamant that the change was needed and ultimately beneficial for both Hamilton and Mercedes.
“It’s a different feeling within the team,” he told Autosport. “But ultimately, you only look towards one thing, which is the performance.
“We obviously started really well. Now we’ve had a run of bad form. I hope we can get that back on track, but there’s always pros and cons to every change that you make in any organisation.
“But I think the change was with Lewis. It’s good for him. It’s really good for us as a team; a fresh start. Sometimes you need to break that mould to find yourself back on track.”
Russell on Antonelli’s progress and Mercedes’ focus on 2026
While Hamilton has faced difficulties settling in at Ferrari, Russell has been closely observing the progress of his new Mercedes partner, Antonelli.
Despite mixed results in qualifying and races, Russell insists that the Italian’s pace relative to him has remained consistent.
“The fact is, his pace delta to me is no different – I think that’s what people don’t see,” he added.
“In Canada, I was on pole and he qualified fourth, but he was six tenths behind me. In Belgium, he was out in Q1, and I made it to Q3, but he was only three tenths off.
“People look at the underlying result, but the truth is he’s still making progress, even though we as a team have gone backwards.
“But suddenly you’re now in the fight where a tenth can be six or seven grid spots, whereas before, for the positions we were fighting for, a tenth is plus or minus one position.
“Kimi and I had just taken an equal step backwards over those last few races.”
Russell also stressed that Mercedes’ recent dip in performance should not be seen as a long-term issue.
Most of the team at Brackley has already moved on to development for the 2026 car, meaning the setback has minimal impact on next year’s project.
“It’s obviously a totally different concept going into next year, but you still need people feeling creative, feeling confident with themselves, and the simulations and tools working properly,” he explained.
“Ultimately, this is a sport based upon decisions and upon people, because the people are who create the simulations and everything, and we need them in the best place possible.
“Of course, this recent lack of performance is not ideal, but actually, the truth is 95 percent of the workforce is already on 2026. So, that group of people is not in the sort of emotional cycle that you would ordinarily be in.”
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