Lewis Hamilton Confidently Crowns George Russell as Mercedes’ Next Leader Before Bahrain GP

Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari, you wouldn’t have believed us if we said this a month ago but it is the reality now. The 7X champ will leave the Brackley stable at the end of the current season and join the Leclerc in Maranello as his future home. This leaves Toto Wolff in a tricky spot to fill in the boots of a 103-time race winner and arguably the most successful driver in F1. Hamilton however is confident that George Russell will be able to take over his role at Mercedes.

The role of the team leader. While the teams always suggest that they don’t have a No.1 driver that leads the team, there always is a preferred driver. Hamilton’s leaving put Russell in the spotlight as the one to lead Mercedes back to winning ways. Lewis Hamilton during the Bahrain GP press conference was asked whether he thinks George Russell is ready to lead Mercedes once the 7X champ leaves for Ferrari. 

Lewis Hamilton replied, “I don’t know. I’m sure he can. George he’s very technical, massively engaging. He’s obviously come a long way since he was at Williams and since he joined the team [Mercedes]. He’s also incredibly close with Toto, so no doubt that will be his position.” However, it will also depend on who will be Geroge Russell’s teammate at Mercedes next year.

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If a rookie like Kimi Antonelli joins then Russell will take the lead but say he’s not ready and Toto Wolff decides to make Fernando Alonso an offer, then it’ll be a whole different story. The Spaniard would want to be the leader and preferred driver and will probably discuss the same with Wolff before joining the team. Wolff recently made a comment on how Kimi Antonelli was the reason behind Hamilton’s current Mercedes contract. 

Andrea Kimi Antonelli the reason behind Lewis Hamilton’s short contract

Prior to Lewis Hamilton signing his current Mercedes contract, rumors came out suggesting how the Briton wanted a long-term contract from the Brackley stable along with an ambassadorial role. However, In the end, Hamilton settled with a 2-year (1+1) contract with Mercedes. But Wolff has now come out to explain why Hamilton was given this shorter contract.

Toto Wolff said, “There was a situation many years ago where we had the opportunity to let Max drive. And that wasn’t possible back then because we simply didn’t have a cockpit. [Nico] Rosberg and Hamilton were tied to us long-term, and Red Bull naturally seized the opportunity. They gave him a contract with Toro Rosso, with the possibility of driving for Red Bull the following year. We then lost the young driver, and you can see how successful he has become. And precisely because we have a junior on the horizon who is really driving at a very high level, I simply wanted to keep this option open.”

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What do you think? How will Lewis Hamilton perform at Ferrari? Will Russell be able to lead Mercedes?