Is George Russell capable of leading Mercedes?

Lewis Hamilton has been the de-facto leader at Mercedes for almost a decade. The 39-year-old achieved incredible success with the Silver Arrows including six drivers’ titles. However, as Hamilton leaves for Maranello next season, the mantle would fall upon his teammate George Russell.

Russell was promoted to Mercedes in 2022 after three seasons with Williams. The 26-year-old was seen as a future world champion. However, so far, George Russell has won a single race as the Silver Arrows continue to struggle in the ground-effect era.

Toto Wolff has already affirmed that George Russell would be the team leader after Lewis Hamilton joins Ferrari. However, the Austrian billionaire has expressed his interest in trying to sign Max Verstappen in the future. Verstappen would undoubtedly demand the number 1 status if he was to join the Brackley-based team. This pegs the question, Is George Russell truly capable of leading Mercedes?

George Russell still far away from becoming a team leader

Russell is undoubtedly one of the most exciting drivers on the F1 grid. However, the 26-year-old still has a lot to learn. George Russell managed to claim pole position at the Canadian GP. Unfortunately, he failed to convert it to a race victory, admitting that it was a missed opportunity for Mercedes.

During the race in Montreal, Toto Wolff asked Russell to focus on the team radio. Such conversations are not expected when its a team’s future lead driver. Rather, it seemed like George Russell was fighting for victory for the first time in his career.

Nevertheless, the 26-year-old is a team player and has worked with Brackley to solve its car issues since joining the team. Wolff’s guidance might be pivotal in ensuring that George Russell can improve and negate mistakes in the future. Although, Mercedes’ willingness to get Max Verstappen might indicate that the team does not fully entrust Russell as its team leader. On the other hand, it is likely that the Briton will become the number 1 driver as Kimi Antonelli is rumored to partner him at Mercedes in 2025.

Certainly, George Russell has a lot of work to do if he wants to solidify his place as the team leader of Mercedes. The 26-year-old will need to build the team around him in the coming weeks, like Charles Leclerc did at Ferrari. However, it remains to be seen if Russell can end Mercedes’ win drought in F1 in the future.

In case you missed it:

• Can Max Verstappen go for Motorsport’s triple crown?
• The end of the road for Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 career

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