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via Reuters

via Reuters

There’s no doubting the fact that George Russell is a special talent. The Williams F1 driver may not yet have the results to show for it, but make no mistake – he is one of the best on the grid, as especially evidenced by his performance in Sakhir last year and in qualifying on a regular basis. Even Fernando Alonso reckons he’ll be a future world champion.

So, it should come as no surprise that a few teams would be vying to sign him up if he doesn’t go to Mercedes. One team that threw their hat in the ring was Alpine.

In a fun video posted on YouTube, all the current F1 team principals (and McLaren CEO Zak Brown) were asked who would they like to have in their team as the third driver. One would have expected Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen to be on the minds of all the bosses. But, surprisingly, two of them named George Russell.

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The first team that named him was rather obvious. It was Mercedes boss Toto Wolff. But the other boss that wanted Russell was Alpine F1’s Marcin Budkowski.

He said, “I think they are all pretty tied in for George. And so, George, if you are watching this and if Toto hasn’t come back to you yet, give me a call.”

That just goes to show how valuable an asset Russell is tipped to be.

Watch Story: Lewis Hamilton’s Incredible Car Collection

Can George Russell break his points drought in Baku?

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For all the talent the former F2 champions possesses, he has been unfortunate not to score any points for Williams. His only points finish in more than two years of F1 racing came in Sakhir, when he filled in for Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.

via Reuters

He continues to put in impressive performances on Saturdays. But unfortunately, he still doesn’t quite have the car that can help him build on those credentials.

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Even the more optimistic fans wouldn’t reckon George would get into the top ten this weekend. But the beauty of sport is that it can be unpredictable. Baku has been the venue for some surprise performances. Can Russell add his name to that list? We shall find out soon.

Read More: Who Is Jost Capito – the New CEO of Williams?