Mr. Saturday got the call to drive for F1 superstar Lewis Hamilton after Mr. Hamilton was stricken with Covid-19 ahead of the race weekend in Sakhir 2020.
He did not disappoint and lived up to his motto: “If in doubt, go flat out”, signaling is intent immediately with a blistering qualifying session that saw him miss out on pole by just 0.026s. He then had a wonderful drive in the race seemingly destined to win, only for it to become undone by a botched pit stop and a late puncture that robbed the young driver of what would have been a certain win, potentially his first of many.
George Russell officially moved into the seat vacated by Valtteri Bottas for the 2022 season and the rest they say his history. He now leads the team following Hamilton’s departure for Ferrari at the end of the 2024 season.
2026 is undoubtedly a big year for Russell.
Long gone is the benchmark that was Lewis Hamilton, the person he desperately wanted to outperform. Long gone is what appeared to be his singular objective – beat Lewis at all cost. A task he performed admirably, but with caveats on why that was inclusive of the heavy experimental work Hamilton did in trying to help them fix cars that were unruly at best, diabolical and unstable at their worst. Cars that were more suited to what was the unpolished, just “go flat out” style of Goerge vs the more sophisticated feel and style of Lewis.
Make no mistake, coupled with some uncharacteristically poor qualifying stints by Mr. Hamilton, George Russell achieved his objective and signalled that he could be a formidable force, but with a new era about to begin inclusive of the biggest technical regulation overhaul in the sport’s history, and an extremely talented teammate in the form of Kimi Antonelli, Goerge has been given the keys to the Kingdom. He has it all to play for.
The difference between upper echelon drivers like Lewis and Max vs “also rans” could be measured in nanoseconds, the margins are fine – Mr. Russell’s desire to beat the benchmark must now be replaced by the weight of being the benchmark, at least for Mercedes.
The ushering-in of new regulation can prove to be tricky for any team and driver, so with the bright lights of being a team leader now resting squarely on his shoulders to guide the car development, the ability to embrace and thrive under that glare is what ultimately separates the good ones from the great ones. With his contemporary, Lando Norris now a world champion, and a teammate who looks every bit competitive in Antonelli, it is game on for George.
