So it’s confirmed. In the end. George Russell will be a Mercedes F1 driver from 2022. Even if the news comes as no surprise, the decision for him and the team was not an easy one, as Toto Wolff made clear.
In Valtteri Bottas they were a well-known great and a driver who not only played Lewis Hamilton well as a foil, but who also helped the team win the World Championship in every season he drove for them.
ANALYSIS: Why Mercedes Chose to Promote Russell for 2022
But in George Russell, Wolff knows that he has the potential future for his squad, and while all of his rivals had their succession plans well established, Mercedes had risked being left behind.
It was now or never.
Reaction: Buxton & Barretto on Russell’s move to Mercedes
Russell is an undeniably fantastic racing driver. Always has been. Master in the cart. Master in F4. Champion in F3 (then GP3). Master in F2. His parentage is beyond question.
But his path was far from easy. And incredibly, despite his gigantic talent, it probably wouldn’t have gotten as far as it is without the support of Mercedes. But even within the Stuttgart family, his rise to the top was never assured. With Pascal Werhlein and Esteban Ocon at his side, he had to prove again and again that he is the one in whose hands the future of the team should be placed.
ANALYSIS: Why Williams chose Albon as Russell’s replacement – and kept Latifi for 2022
There were questions about his temperament, not that he was ever aggressive or wild – more than the occasional frustration that could arise. As he watched his childhood rivals climb the ladder a rung or two in front of him, he began to wonder why he wasn’t climbing so quickly.
No doubt driven by a media and fan base asking the same questions, George undoubtedly wondered to himself why he was still trudging around with equipment that was below his ability. But it was always lightning. Doused quickly. He bowed his head and focused forward on the task at hand, making the most of his situation as soon as his attention was diverted from the course for a moment.
Russell has been highly rated since his youth and won the 2018 F2 championship
As if we had ever doubted it, Toto Wolff knew what he was doing the whole time. Because while the pressure came more and more from the outside, from the press, his teammates, even rival drivers, to make Russell his place, Wolff stood firm and understood that if George would learn to lead the slowest team in the sport and play a pivotal role could play a central role in getting them up on the grid, it would form the foundation for the team leader he needed when Lewis Hamilton finally put his helmet on.
While Ferrari and Red Bull put their young talents in the spotlight after just over a year in Formula 1, George Russell will have spent three years at Williams learning what it takes to turn tough times into good ones. Learning to use difficult moments as motivation. And never taking success for granted.
TREMAYNE: After Russell stole the show at Spa, can there be any doubt that he’s ready for the next step?
Helmut Marko’s school of hard hits from Red Bull is well known, but Toto Wolff’s style of upbringing could not have been more different and could still serve to create a rounder and more ready racing driver when he finally climbs to the top of the table.
Kick off boundaries, build an understanding of where he came from and where he is now, build a knowledge of what it is to be the center of a team and how one person can unite and move that family forward.
Russell waited a long time with Williams for points – and followed with a podium in Belgium
But it’s not an easy sequence. 2022 will not be George Russell’s coronation. He doesn’t join Mercedes to find an empty throne. How he manages the next two seasons alongside Lewis Hamilton will be important not only for his own future, but also for that of Mercedes.
And Lewis himself plays as big a role as George. Russell will want to impress right away. But Hamilton won’t want to take a back seat. The potential for friction is high, and only time will tell if those rare moments of frustration will bubble over George.
Nico Rosberg knows all too well the predicament that George Russell is facing and has warned that the next few years at Mercedes may not be as rosy as the team hopes.
READ MORE: Mercedes threatened Hamilton and Rosberg with suspension at the height of the rivalry, Wolff reveals
While both George and Lewis are saying the right things now, on the first Saturday of the new season you can be sure that you will be speaking to the press with a bum face.
Toto Wolff is thus facing perhaps the greatest challenge of his management career. Keep his current star happy. But don’t let the racing driver charged with his team’s future be destroyed. That is why the decision to get the 23-year-old on board was so difficult for him.
How will Hamilton get along with his new teammate?
Russell is smart, cunning, and extremely clever. In the car, he has a keen sense of the word, paired with a courageous but controlled speed change that comes together to form a rare innate talent. That much has been clear for a decade or more. Still, he’s emotional. Wears his heart on his sleeve. Won’t be shy of crying in front of the cameras or showing your frustrations.
He is real and human, and as we saw a few months ago at Silverstone, he has already been taken into the hearts of the public.
He may be saying the right things in public, but George Russell is not going to go to Mercedes to play second fiddle. Can he keep his expectations in check? We will see.
But Mercedes had to move now or risk losing either Russell’s heart, his loyalty, or even the driver to a rival.
2021 British GP Qualifying: Silverstone breaks out as Russell emerges from 2nd place.
Russell no longer needs his fabled PowerPoint presentations to prove his worth. But will knowing about the future of the team give him reason to push too fast and too far?
It will be a case study in diplomacy and politics. But ultimately, and as always, the answer will be in Racecraft and results.
Mercedes is facing a difficult phase. And an exciting one for us as fans. The master and the apprentice. The king and the prince. Will the crown be handed over or taken?
I can barely wait for it.
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