Lewis Hamilton has spoken ardently about George Russell as the Formula 1 candidate appears to be heading for Mercedes’ second seat for next year. Hamilton’s current team-mate Valtteri Bottas has faced fierce speculation about his own future, although a move to Alfa Romero now seems like his likely next move.
The Finn has been widely touted as the successor to Kimi Raikkonen at Alfa Romeo, with the veteran having confirmed he will step down at the end of the season.
That would leave Russell room to move up from Williams to Mercedes, a move that has been rumored for some time.
Russell has already ridden for the Silver Arrows and did an admirable performance last year when he represented a Covid-affected Hamilton in Bahrain, only to dash his hopes of victory after a pit-stop malfunction.
The 23-year-old took his first F1 podium last time in Belgium. Continuous rain made for an unorthodox afternoon, as the drivers had to be satisfied with half points due to their qualifying positions after only two laps outside the competition.
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Earlier reports from Sportsmail had indicated that Russell’s move to Mercedes had gone down “like a lead balloon” at the Hamilton camp, but the seven-time champions’ latest press conference suggests the opposite.
Before the Dutch Grand Prix he said: “I honestly think it will be good. I think George is clearly an incredibly talented driver.
“I would say probably the only highlight from last week [at Spa] was his qualifying round, it was amazing.
“I think he’s humble, I think he has a great approach, of course being British would help me in terms of communication.
“He is the future. He is one of the members of the future of sport.
“I think he has shown incredible driving performance so far and I’m sure he will keep growing, so where better to do that than on a great team like this?
“George was already on the track with us, he has already driven a race with the team, he was already in the background while Valtteri and I worked in the past. So I think he knows the area well.
“If it turns out that I have a new teammate, I’ll be in a different place in my life. I am happy when the youngsters get through.
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“Of course I don’t want to lose to a youngster, but I’m excited to see how the sport develops because I’m a fan of the sport at the end of the day.”
Hamilton’s haunted endorsement will be a welcome ego boost for Russell, who already has reason to celebrate after finishing his podium at Spa.
Achieving second place with a partial technique, however, may not be how the youngster would have imagined such a special moment on paper.
Should he make his long-awaited move to Mercedes, his chances of regular podium places would undoubtedly go through the roof.
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