George Russell’s former kart team-mate has described the British driver as “special” and supported him to replace Valtteri Bottas at Mercedes next year. There is speculation that the 23-year-old Russell will run alongside Lewis Hamilton next season, with Toto Wolff admitting the decision was already made privately. And now Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has joined the growing number of votes backing Russell to shine when he joins the current Constructors’ champions.
Leclerc, who was on the news earlier this week for saying that spectators at the rain-hit Belgian Grand Prix should be compensated, said it was clear from a young age that Russell was “extremely talented”.
Before this week’s Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, he said: “I was actually a team-mate with George.
“It’s been a long time in karting – and I think what I’ve seen of him since then is that he’s just extremely talented, and every time he got into karting back then or now he got into the car he just went straight on quickly Path. So his talent makes him special.
“If he goes to Mercedes next year – and I hope he does because I think he deserves a chance there – I’m pretty sure that he will do very, very well and impress more than one person will.”
SIMPLE IN: Lewis Hamilton “does not agree” that Dutch fans are booed when Max Verstappen speaks up
And his current Williams teammate, Nicholas Latifi, said he had a lot more to offer than just qualifying skills.
“I’m a team-mate of his right now and I have seen firsthand how fast he is lately,” said the 26-year-old.
“I think Saturday’s performances are pretty outstanding to the public, and I can obviously see behind the scenes on the dates just how fast he is in these scenarios.
Follow our new Daily Express Sport Instagram page here.
“But I think besides the actual speed he has, his ability to always bring it all together at this crucial moment, on this lap that counts, is very impressive,” added Latifi.
“He’s very, very good at handling the small details in the race and a lot of peripheral things. I think if he moves to Mercedes we saw what he is capable of in Bahrain last year, so I have no doubt he will keep up the pace immediately. “
The post Leclerc calls on Mercedes to terminate Bottas because of the “special” Russell | F1 | Sports first appeared on monter-une-startup.
