George Russell possesses the ability to keep Lewis Hamilton behind him at Mercedes, believes two-time Formula 1 World Champion Mika Hakkinen.
Russell was part of the Mercedes junior programme for several years before joining the F1 team as a full-time driver in 2022, having spent three seasons racing for Williams.
In his first year at the Brackley-based squad, Russell headed Hamilton in the standings with 35 points separating the duo.
Russell took Mercedes’ only victory of the year at the Brazilian Grand Prix, where he was forced to deal with pressure from Hamilton late on in the race.
Speaking to Top Gear Magazine, Hakkinen has backed the 24-year-old to keep Hamilton in his mirrors going forward.
“What he did in Brazil, it was brilliant,” he said. The team has improved the car massively, so they can win races. Is he able to continue that trend?
“If he can keep with that experience what he has in Mercedes, and experience what he has in Formula 1 in general, he can keep Lewis behind. It’s really impressive.
“Because Lewis is incredible. Incredible personality, incredible driver. So if George can go for it, then I think England can look like ‘Wow, what a driver we have.”
Russell has enjoyed success in his junior career, taking titles in GP3 and Formula 2 – and Hakkinen believes that he can wrap up the F1 title one day.
“The list is unbelievably long when you start fine-tuning every aspect of being a racing driver,” Hakkinen said. “But he has already a massively long career behind him.
“Talking about karting, all those other categories, and his knowledge of data, his capabilities handling the car in extreme situations… I am confident he has all the potential to be a great driver, potentially becoming a World Champion.”
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