Among the young drivers, the one who has really impressed us is George Russell, who’s being regarded as the successor of the great Lewis Hamilton. We met the F1 prodigy, to know more about him.
He told us that, if you are a good driver, you will be confident about your ability but in F1, what matters the most is timing, you have to be at the right place at the right time. And, he was indeed in the right place, when a stand-in for Lewis Hamilton was required at the Sakhir Grand Prix. He achieved a great victory, after a stunning performance, and now everyone believes, soon he will join the very successful Mercedes-AMG Grand Prix team.
But, for sure, this doesn’t mean you can be successful just by your luck. He has been groomed and trained as a potential successor to the great driver, long before the event. The company signed him four years ago as a junior, and he has achieved success at every level. In Bahrain, he drove the W11 for the first time at Friday free practice, yet he gave us a good impression of the champion racer. So, don’t believe in the theory that says the car does all the work, as the driver plays a big role.
You can’t say that the company is training him for nothing. He is focused and intelligent. Even if you don’t have much knowledge about his profession, if you talk to him, you will be impressed.
It’s also very clear that he is his own man, doesn’t matter how hard the brand pushes him, he pushes himself harder. He has learned a lot from the company, but he doesn’t only rely on that. This is because of his mentality, which made sure that he does well on his debut.
He said he was with the company as a reserve driver, which taught him that there’s much more to being a complete F1 driver than just getting in the car and going as fast as one can.
When he was working with the team and saw how they operate, it taught him that he needs to improve from a marketing and technical perspective, so he can become a more complete driver and person.