Mercedes may have another Lewis Hamilton in hand when the F1 star retires F1 | Sports

George Russell’s impressive accomplishments for Williams suggest he could mimic Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton’s successes throughout his career, according to Dave Robson, head of vehicle performance for the historic British team. Russell has established himself as one of the best young F1 drivers since he started two years ago, showing lightning-fast potential for winning championships.

The native King’s Lynn has consistently outperformed his teammate Nicholas Latifi, who has not yet qualified before his Williams colleague.

Russell also impressed with an admirable drive for Mercedes at last year’s Sakhir Grand Prix, where Hamilton paused after testing positive for COVID-19.

The former narrowly missed pole position for Valtteri Bottas, but shot past the Finn on the first lap and appeared to be fighting for a first win before a failed pit stop and a slow flat tire ended the chance of a remarkable podium.

Russell has been widely advised to replace Hamilton or Bottas at Mercedes in time for the next season as all three drivers are no longer contracted by the end of the ongoing campaign.

Robson, who previously worked at McLaren, has suggested that the Williams man will assert himself as the dominant force of F1 in the years to come.

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He admitted to Motorsport.com that he sees the same spark in Russell that Hamilton has shown as an up-and-coming talent, claiming the 23-year-old has every chance of achieving similar fame in the near future.

“I think there are definitely some similarities,” said Robson, who was Jenson Button’s race engineer between 2010 and 2012.

“And they were obvious when I first met George and we ran him in the simulator in Grove. Then we went up and ran him around the airfield in a street car.

“There was something again. There was something. I think the talent is there.

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“I think he’s very close to Lewis and certainly has the potential to get there.”

Robson saw Hamilton rise to F1 star while at McLaren. The Stevenage-born racing driver won his first Drivers Championship title in 2008, his second year on the grid.

The Williams boss turned his attention away from Russell, remembering the exact moment when he realized he saw a future star in the making in Hamilton.

“I obviously haven’t worked with him for a couple of years, but it did [the spark] is something he always had I think, “added Robson.

“There’s just something about him. That special quality that you can’t really define.

“It was obvious as a child [McLaren] He tested at Elvington and paced the runway.

“After 10 minutes he got bored. While most of the kids when you took them to Elvington were torn to pieces just to sit in an F1 car, even though they were just driving up and down the runway.

“And he was different from the start. He just has this talent and this tremendous attitude. So take your hat off to him.

“He’s sure to be an annoying customer on the other side of the garage. But yeah, he’s a phenomenal talent.”