George Russell is now the leading man at Mercedes and has been in inspired form this season, but even the 27-year-old British driver himself admits that he’s not the easiest to work with
George Russell has taken the Mercedes helm with ease so far this Formula 1 season(Image: Getty Images)
George Russell has firmly taken the reins at Mercedes, clinching his first victory of the Formula 1 season at the Canadian Grand Prix. The British ace has seamlessly stepped into the shoes of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, impressing with his on-track prowess, although behind the scenes, collaborating with the 27-year-old is supposedly quite the challenge.
A former standout at Williams, Russell joined the Silver Arrows in 2022 to partner with Hamilton until the latter’s switch to Ferrari this year. Now, with the promising Kimi Antonelli as his new team-mate, Russell has become the main man at Brackley, delivering performances that justify his top billing.
There have been numerous accounts detailing the experience of working alongside Russell, from his own admission of being a demanding colleague to an ex-Mercedes engineer praising his maturity compared to Hamilton.
During his tenure at Williams, Jost Capito, the team’s ex-CEO, acknowledged that dealing with a young and ambitious Russell, then only 23, was challenging due to his relentless demands, yet he viewed this trait positively.
“It makes it not easy to work with him because he demands a lot,” Capito conceded. “But I love the drivers who demand a lot and really challenge the team and are never happy, because those are the guys that will be world champions in the future.”
Russell spoke candidly about his approach when pressed by the Express, reflecting: “If you’re demanding, I guess it’s got to be in a constructive way and I’m glad they see it that way. I’m not easy to work with, I’m always pushing these guys for more in every single aspect.”
The talented driver made headlines after joining Mercedes in 2022, clinching a race win at Interlagos and eclipsing his esteemed team-mate in the Drivers’ Championship, securing fourth place that season.
With two additional terms spent alongside Hamilton, former Silver Arrows engineer Philip Brandle unveiled insights last year into how Russell cast a youthful shadow over the experienced champion, branding him “immature” in certain comparisons.
Russell was once described as more mature than Hamilton(Image: LAT Images)
“What sets Lewis apart is simply his incredible feel for the car,” said Brandle via Motorsport-Total. “I would say that in terms of data and technology, he is perhaps not as mature as other drivers, such as Nico Rosberg or now perhaps George Russell.”
Author Matt Whyman, who recently brought to life the inner workings of Mercedes in his 2024 book, weighed in on Russell’s off-track character during a chat with Mirror Sport, observing: “George is a lovely guy. I think he is very, very smart, very switched on, very driven.
“Where George is very prescriptive and very lyrical and describes things in a very accurate way, Lewis is much more emotional about his description of what is going on with the car. It is how he feels – is he happy with this, is he not happy with this? It is very interesting listening to the difference between them, yet they both provide this raft of information.”
Now sporting Ferrari’s iconic red, Hamilton has left Russell to brilliantly piece together what remains, painting a picture of a confident leader in recent portrayals.
Mercedes’ trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin had this to say about the 27-year-old in April: “He just seems to be very relaxed in his position in the team now and he’s just going about getting the points, trying to qualify as well as he can. He’s pushing us hard to improve and he’s doing a lot of work himself.”
With a 2025 race victory already under his belt, Russell is heading into the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring aiming to solidify a championship run in a race he won last year, currently trailing leader Oscar Piastri by 62 points.
