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AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost claims George Russell is already stronger than Lewis Hamilton. Consequently, the Austrian expects a three-way title battle between Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and Russell in 2023.
Russell had an impressive first year with Mercedes, finishing at a career-best P4 in the standings at the end of the year. In doing so, the Briton managed to outperform his teammate and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who had the worst season of his F1 career. Russell is only the third teammate to beat Hamilton, making him one to look out for.
Tost subsequently expects a three-way title battle between Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and Russell in 2023, claiming that the Briton is already 'better' than Hamilton. While the former Williams driver did manage to outscore his teammate this year, he doesn't even have a tenth of the accolades the boy from Stevenage has amassed in his long career.
The AlphaTauri boss told Speedweek:
"A dominance like Max Verstappen and Red Bull have shown this year is quite rare. I expect a three-way battle between Max, Charles Leclerc, and George Russell, who is already stronger than Lewis Hamilton"
Russell took his first pole position and win in 2022, taking the latter at the Brazilian GP in spectacular fashion.
George Russell has a positive outlook for 2023
George Russell has a positive outlook going into the 2023 F1 season. The Mercedes driver claims making mistakes is good in the long run as the team can double down and get better in the months to come.
Despite Russell's success this year, Mercedes had an unsuccessful campaign in 2022 after having won the constructors' title for eight years in a row. The team was unable to grasp the newly introduced aero regulations, leading to a severe fall from grace. Mercedes' 2022 challenger, the W13, was riddled with porpoising in the first half of the season. As a result, the team was unable to catch up to Red Bull and Ferrari, who dominated the rest of the field.
The 24-year-old sees a silver lining for the Brackley-based team, claiming that losing is needed to eventually win. He told the High Performance podcast:
"I think, in terms of your progress, you need to lose to be able to win. I think, this year, I've had some failure and a small amount of success. Mercedes, we're here to win. They've won the championship for the last eight years. [Struggling to win has] not been where we've wanted to achieve. But we've been very consistent, we've achieved results, and we've been solid."
Since he will no longer be in his first year with Mercedes in 2023, George Russell will have heavier weights on his shoulders next year. Only time will tell if he will live up to expectations.
