George Russell explained how using Lewis Hamilton’s performance in Formula 1 in 2021 became a benchmark for him as he summed up 2025 as his “strongest year”.
The Brit was blighted by a Mercedes package that could not afford him the opportunity of challenging for the title, the W16 falling short of the McLaren and Red Bull.
But Russell performed impeccably over the course of the season, ending up outside the top 10 only once, finishing fourth in the Drivers’ standings with 319 points.
His nine podiums – including two victories in Canada and Singapore respectively – helped the German marque take second place in the Constructors’ Championship.
It was Russell’s first year as de facto team leader at the Brackley-based squad, with Hamilton departing to Ferrari and being given a new team-mate in rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Ahead of the penultimate round of the championship in Qatar, Russell was asked how he rated his four seasons with Mercedes, and indicated that 2025 was his best to date.
“Yeah, definitely this,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“Well, I was very happy with ’22, because it was obviously my first year at Mercedes, first year team-mates with Lewis, and that was like a test for me to see how I was going to perform, and that was obviously at the back of ’21 when he was, in my eyes, probably the best performance that I’ve ever seen of Lewis over the course of a season.
“But obviously this year, more points, more podiums, more consistency, less mistakes. So, on the whole, this is without a doubt going to be my strongest year.”
Mercedes, as an OEM, has been given an early tag of ‘favourites’ for the new 50-50 hybrid era in 2026 due to its supposed performance strength in early dyno and bench testing.
Along with the works team, McLaren and Williams continue their partnerships, and will be accompanied by Alpine as a customer.
If the Mercedes squad can produce a car that can match the McLarens, Russell will undoubtedly have earned himself good bookmakers’ odds to take his first title.
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