George Russell: I’m ready to fight for the title

The Mercedes team did not do well last season with one pole position, one sprint victory and one Grand Prix. All this was offered to her by George Russell, who from the very beginning of the championship was practically in no way inferior to Lewis Hamilton, his famous partner, although it was his debut season as part of the factory team of the Stuttgart concern.

On the one hand, George considers his first victory in Formula 1 a major achievement, on the other hand, he is not inclined to exaggerate his successes.

“For me, that victory in Brazil was more important than the number of points scored and the place in the individual standings,” he told Auto Motor und Sport. – In the end no one will remember that I was ahead of Lewis on points. In the championship I took only fourth place, and this, one might say, is no man’s land.

If someone had offered me a year ago to limit myself to one win, one pole and eight podiums, I would have declined. My ambitions and goals for the team are much higher than what we have been able to achieve.

We have a normal working relationship with Lewis, because we know that together we can achieve better results for the team than in a situation where we were on opposite sides. If Mercedes had problems with drivers in the past, it was probably because the age difference between teammates was smaller, and also because the team was fighting for championship victory at the time. In our case there is none of that.

We know that our new car will be faster than last year and I am sure we can claim better results in 2023. But the problem is that we don’t yet know how much progress the others have made. In Formula 1 everything is relative, but personally I feel the power to fight for the title. I am ready.”

When Russell was asked what advice he could give to Mick Schumacher, who became Mercedes reserve driver, he replied: “If I were Mick I would make every effort to work on the simulator at the Brackley base. do our best to join the team.”