Throughout the 2022 season, George Russell was consistently finishing in the top 5 positions and racking up a significant amount of points for the team. By the end of the season, he had accumulated a total of 275 to seal 4th place in the drivers’ championship. In fact, throughout the season he’d placed outside the top 5 only on two occasions, scoring an overall 8 podiums, 1 win, and even a pole position that season!
However, his 2023 season has not been as decorated. Finishing on the podium only once, Russell is currently trailing his teammate by 49 points. Although this drop in performance has been acknowledged by Mercedes, the German-based team has publicly re-stated their belief in the talent Russell brings to the table, with confidence that he can fight for the championship in the near future!
Mercedes still pin high hopes on George Russell
In the 2022 season, Lewis finished 35 points behind Russell. Showing initial signs of struggle in the first few races of 2022, fans were convinced that the scars left by the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP controversy ran too deep for Lewis to bite back.
However, almost as if to prove everyone wrong, in 2023 Lewis has already collected 148 points and is currently sat at P4 in the standings, 1 point behind his former rival and teammate Fernando Alonso.
In contrast to this, Russell’s 2023 season has been nothing extraordinary to speak of. Currently tied on points with Charles Leclerc, he has to be wary of Carlos Sainz who is only 7 points behind. While in 2022 Russell managed to make the top 5 in all but 2 races, in 2023 he has only broken the 5th place barrier in 5 races out of 12 so far!
Nevertheless, Mercedes looks adamant about Russell’s potential with the confidence that he will lead them on to a road very similar to the success witnessed firsthand by the German team throughout Hamilton’s career. Trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin had this to say:
“He’s a hugely professional driver who’s working very, very hard. And he’s one of those that you’d say no doubt he’ll win a championship at some point, providing we can give him a car that’s fit for that job.”
Russell has yet to replicate Hamilton’s success
While Hamilton’s 2022 season was like a blip in a largely successful career, Russell’s so-called victory belt is not so decorated. While it needs to be factored in that George has never really had the chance to be in a car competitive enough to fight for the championship, the faltering in his performance this season cannot go unnoticed either.
After an initially somewhat strong start to the season, the past 6 races for the young Brit have not been great, as the disparity between Russell and Hamilton’s points this season is evidently increasing at an alarming rate!
However, the never-give-up attitude which forms the foundation of Lewis’ seems to have spread to Russell’s side of the garage. As mentioned earlier, Mercedes still have high hopes for George in the future, and Russell too looks forward to biting back and redeeming himself later this season.
Acknowledging the mistakes he’s made this season, George looks keen on using the summer break to return to form and prove Mercedes right when they say they have more than one championship-worthy driver in their garage.
Do you agree with Mercedes that George Russell is capable of winning a championship? Comment on what you think down below!
