George Russell claims he deserves a title shot with Mercedes

George Russell compared himself to Max Verstappen and Michael Schumacher.

George Russell claims he deserves a title shot with Mercedes

Sergio Perez and George Russell. (image via IMAGO)

George Russell made his F1 debut with Williams in 2019. The British driver spent three seasons at the Grove-based team before being promoted to the Mercedes F1 team. The 25-year-old won his first race with the Silver Arrows in Brazil last season. Now, Russell has claimed that he is ready to challenge for the F1 world championship.

The British driver compared himself to Max Verstappen. Verstappen spent four seasons at Red Bull before winning his first championship in 2021. Similarly, Russell insisted that he deserves a shot at the title as he is now in his fifth season in Formula 1. He told Autoweek, “Max spent four years at Red Bull before he got his chance of truly fighting for a championship.”

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Moreover, George Russell pointed out that Michael Schumacher had to wait for four years before he could achieve great success with Scuderia Ferrari. As such, it seems that the 25-year-old is hinting at being prepared to fight for his maiden F1 title with Mercedes. Russell said, “The same with Schumacher… the guy who was at Ferrari, dominant, won everything, it took four or five years before he got that success there.”

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George Russell is happy with Mercedes

George Russell and Lewis Hamilton during the Austrian GP.
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton during the Austrian GP (image via Motorsport.com)

The 25-year-old has long been a part of the Mercedes driver program. The Silver Arrows have continued to have faith in George Russell. The Briton recently signed a contract extension to stay at the Brackley-based team till 2025 alongside Lewis Hamilton. The 25-year-old compared his union with the German team to that of a married couple.

As such, George Russell insisted that he would continue to race for Mercedes in the future. The Silver Arrows fell behind Red Bull at the start of the ground-effect era in F1. However, the German squad is extensively to try and catch up to the Milton Keynes-based team. The 25-year-old stated, “We’re on this journey and it’s sort of like we’re bound to one another. You’re like a married couple, you’re in this together.”

Thus, George Russell believes that he is ready to fight for the world title. The British driver compared himself to the likes of Max Verstappen and Michael Schumacher as the two spent a few years before achieving dominant success in the sport. However, Russell will have to wait some time before Mercedes can give him a car capable of challenging Verstappen.

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