George Russell makes Max Verstappen admission in Lewis Hamilton F1 GOAT verdict
George Russell would want Max Verstappen as his team-mate if it wasn't Lewis Hamilton – but still thinks his current partner is the best Formula 1 has ever seen.
Russell has been team-mates with Hamilton for the last two seasons. But his move to Mercedes has coincided with a particularly lean period for both the team and the seven-time world champion.
Red Bull are dominating the sport with Mercedes not as competitive as they once were. The Silver Arrows have won just one race across the last two seasons, at Brazil last year when Russell took his maiden F1 victory, while Hamilton's personal drought stretches back to the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Even thought the Hamilton he has seen close up is not necessarily one at the top of his game, Russell has still been left in awe by what his team-mate can do. And it is a unique learning opportunity that not many other drivers have had, working so closely with the 38-year-old.
For Russell, it has reaffirmed his belief about Hamilton and where he stands among the best F1 drivers the sport has ever produced. "He's obviously the greatest of all time," the 25-year-old told RaceFans.
Sebastian Vettel warns of looming F1 ban and is "very worried about the future"
"I learn a lot on and off the track from him. I think he's still hungry for more. He's hungry to try to win more races. I'm hungry to achieve that and beat him.
Hamilton and Russell form an all-British driver pairing at Mercedes (HOCH ZWEI/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)"Somebody asked me before, 'If Lewis wasn't my team mate, who would I want it to be?' And I said Max, because when I joined Mercedes Lewis was, and still is, the greatest driver of all time. You would define him as the quickest and the best on the grid.
"I've got the chance to go head-to-head with him still now week in, week out. So you want to put yourself against the best because I believe in myself and I want to prove to myself and the people around me what I'm capable of. You gain that respect by competing against the best in the business."
Russell has not yet had the chance to prove his own title credentials since making his Mercedes move. But despite a perhaps different experienced to the one he might have expected when he was offered the seat, Russell remains patient and pointed at other examples of drivers who were made to wait before filling their boots.
He said: "You obviously dream of jumping in the car and just winning every single race, but it's not like that for anybody. Even for Max – he spent three-and-a-half, four years at Red Bull before he got his chance of truly fighting for a championship.
"And same as [Michael] Schumacher when he went to Ferrari – it was, I think, four years before he won a championship with Ferrari. Whereas we all look at him as the guy who 'was' Ferrari dominance – won everything – it took four or five years before he got that success there.
" I'm very confident. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I'm very happy being a Mercedes driver. I feel almost like a duty to return their faith in me with loyalty, with delivering my best and ultimately delivering a championship with them. That is my dream and my goal."
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
