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George Russell is arguably the most promising young driver on the current F1 grid. He has been the talk of the town in his debut season with Mercedes. No one anticipated him to perform so well that he would manage to leave Lewis Hamilton behind. The Briton has been nothing short of an enigma on the grid, matching up to the Brackley outfit's standards quicker than anyone we know.
It is undeniable that he had to prove his worth with the backmarker Williams for 3 hard years to reach this point. But George Russell took it as a sacred path to get that Mercedes seat. There's no doubt that the fraternity finds a future Formula 1 champion in the King's Lynn native.
As for Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, 2022 has not necessarily been his year. The Knight struggled excessively during the start of the season. From being stuck behind Pierre Gasly's AlphaTauri to then being lapped by archrival Max Verstappen, Hamilton saw it all. Even though the 37-year-old has finally found his rhythm, Russell undoubtedly stole the limelight in the meantime that made him this year's priority for Mercedes.
However, the two Britons seem to get along well, with Hamilton approaching Russell's climb maturely. Though, it is clear that Russell has a bright future with Mercedes after this year and will be expected to don Hamilton's No.1 cape possibly very soon. Let's look at the reasons.
#1 George Russell has gained enough experience
Even though the 24-year-old wasn't able to fight for wins in his Williams, he was fighting for points and polishing his skills. The young Briton has surely learned to be professional and get his job done on race days.
Though George Russell has already worked with many in the Mercedes garage during his F2 days, he deserves credit for fitting in like a puzzle piece. Not only is he a master at avoiding crashes, but he is consistent with his performance and is also known to drive his car to positions it naturally can't get to.
#2 George Russell is 30 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton already
Both Mercedes drivers have been on the podium six times this year so far. However, George Russell is the only driver to finish in the top 5 every race, barring the only DNF at the British GP. Further, the driver has mostly remained error-free.
Even more unexpected was the fact that Russell was a lot more comfortable in the third fastest car in 2022. Meanwhile, Hamilton failed to find his footing for the longest time owing to his experimental setup with the car during the start of the season. As an experienced driver of the team, he shouldered more responsibility with the machinery throughout, pushing him back on the grid.
Hamilton looked close to Q1 and Q2 elimination on several occasions, while also finishing much lower than his teammate in some races. To Russell's credit, on the other hand, he found himself adjusting to the W13 rather quickly and could find decent pace most of the time, despite its many problems.
#3 George Russell's vital and intelligent calls during races
We can thank Lewis Hamilton himself for teaching George Russell this one. The driver showed true signs of a future champion when he made the call for softs during the Dutch GP, ready to hunt down a race win. What was more surprising was the fact that Mercedes let him do that and did not inform Hamilton, giving an implication to their preference this year.
Even during the French Grand Prix, George Russell caught Sergio Perez napping during the race restart and cleverly gained one position. The youngster knows what he's doing, is very well aware of his surroundings, and prioritizes his race, making Mercedes like him more.
#4 The most consistent amongst contemporaries on the grid
Barring Max Verstappen, George Russell has been better than most of the current drivers on the grid. He is barely 13 points away from snatching Charles Leclerc's P2 and has often come frighteningly close to a race win. Besides his obvious aspirations, Russell has always finished in the top 5, unlike the likes of Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris, and even Leclerc.
Among the 24 to 27-year-olds, George Russell has quickly made up points and bore the pressure of a top seat much better than the likes of Pierre Gasly or Alex Albon. He has also found himself in a favorable spot for years to come. He has performed much better than many others with a lot more experience in the top seat. Russell is a testament to the fact that Mercedes made the right choice of picking him rather than any other talent on the grid.
#5 George Russell is a prodigal talent
It would be foolish to ignore George Russell's advances towards becoming a future F1 champ. Dare we say that if the Silver Arrows were not the third but the second or fastest car on the grid, this former F2 and F3 champion could've finished ahead of the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
There have been several moments this year where Russell has proved just how talented he is - his battles with Leclerc, his P2 move on Hamilton, his maiden pole in Hungary, and not letting Verstappen through during the Spanish GP to the point that Red Bull changed strategies.
Safe to say, Russell only awaits the best car on the grid now to make life difficult at Mercedes camp and annoy the Red Bulls. He's a notch above many other drivers and will carve out a win-win situation for himself one way or another.
