Former F1 world champion Emerson Fittipaldi believes that this year presents the best chance for George Russell to show he has what it takes to be a team leader and championship contender at Mercedes.
Russell joined the Silver Arrows for the 2022 campaign and quickly showed the talent and ability he has, adapting well to his new surroundings despite their difficulties out on track.
Indeed, he showed all the leadership qualities you need to be a number 1 driver, race winner, and eventual champion, and looks set to keep that trend up in 2023.
He beat Lewis Hamilton in the standings last year, of course, and will be aiming to try and do so again this season, though the seven-time world champion is going to be eager to underline the fact that he remains one of the best drivers on the grid and that he is not quite yet ready to hand over the reins of being team leader at the Silver Arrows.
Russell, so far, has seemed quite happy to play the team game, too, with Merc obviously needing to pull together to try and reel in Red Bull, but it is clear that one day Hamilton will not be with the team as he cannot go on forever and Russell will want to keep showing why he is the natural successor to his compatriot in terms of leading the Brackley-based outfit out on track.
Speaking to MyBettingSites, former world champion Emerson Fittipaldi has said now is the time for Russell to show what he is all about, then, and he believes the time is ripe for George to get ahead of Lewis inside the garage.
“For sure, Russell is more aggressive now,” said the Brazilian.
“He is more experienced now and the Mercedes team knows him much better now. It seems like he is becoming a better fit for the team.
“This is his best chance to get ahead of Lewis Hamilton and show that he has the level. It is going to be very interesting to see what happens. His situation is quite similar to Sergio Perez in my opinion.
“He will be driving 110% now and be aggressive to go past people.”
Russell is a brilliant talent and should be seen on a par with the likes of Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen, as well as Hamilton of course, as one of the leading lights on the grid.
Mercedes clearly see him as their next number one driver on the grid but for as long as Lewis is on the scene it will need some effort from the one-time Grand Prix winner to try and make that happen in the short-term future.
Formula 1
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