Jenson Button outlines the game plan for George Russell at Mercedes next season

Jenson Button outlines the game plan for George Russell at Mercedes next season

George Russell

George Russell will finally become a Mercedes driver next season, as he replaced Valtteri Bottas to get the coveted second seat. The young Briton drove for Williams for three seasons, and his impressive performances earned him a Mercedes seat.

However, things will be different for George Russell next season, as the pressure will be on him to deliver. Fans will expect nothing less than a podium finish for the youngster. Moreover, his teammate is none other than the seven-time champion, Lewis Hamilton which will add to the pressure.

Former F1 driver and 2009 champion, Jenson Button believes that Russell should avoid any sort of pressure, and slowly build into the car. Button believes that Russell should not aim to go quicker than Lewis in the initial stages, as he adapts himself to his new car.

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“He’s got to not put pressure on himself,” Button told Sky Sports F1. “He can’t think ‘I’m going to get in the car and be quicker than Lewis on day one’. He’s got to build up to it, otherwise he’s going to shoot himself in the foot. You can’t be too confident alongside Lewis,” he added, as quoted by PlanetF1.

We saw a different Lewis Hamilton this season: Jenson Button

Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton

Although Lewis Hamilton lost the world championship to Max Verstappen this year, Jenson Button believes that we witnessed a different and a much more composed Lewis. The Briton was trailing by 19 points going into the final four races of the season, but he held himself together and almost completed an incredible comeback.

Lewis Hamilton has not had the best of relations with his teammates over the years. He fell out with his old-friend, Nico Rosberg at Mercedes, and his relations with Fernando Alonso were also not great during his earlier years. However, Button emphasized that Lewis is no longer an insecure person, and has changed for the better this year.

“Lewis this year is a very different Lewis to previous years, he was very relaxed, very confident in his ability. If he was insecure in the past, that’s gone, and we have got a very different Lewis. It feels like he found himself this year,” said Button.

Also Read: Nico Rosberg warns that Toto Wolff choosing George Russell is a ‘huge’ risk