Russell Wouldn't Expect 'Same Amount Of Respect' At Mercedes As Hamilton

Friday, 15 March 2024 at 15:00

Lewis Hamilton is about to leave Mercedes, and George Russell discussed how he feels about taking his role and potentially becoming the team leader.

Lewis Hamilton is set to leave Mercedes at the end of the 2024 season. So far, it isn't clear who will replace the seven-time World Champion, as Toto Wolff wants to take as much time as possible to make his decision.

However, it is likely that Russell could be the one to take over the role of team leader at Silver Arrows. Asked by Sky Sports how he feels about it, the 26-year-old responded:

"I'm not really thinking about it to be honest. When I came to Mercedes, I recognized, you know, going against probably the greatest of all time. He's been there for so many years."

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The 2024 season will be the 39-year-old's 12th season with the German team. Interestingly, that is the most that any driver has stayed with a single team in the history of F1.

Russell asserted that the seven-time World Champion has been with the team for so long and has achieved so much that he wouldn't expect to have the same amount of respect within the team as Hamilton.

"Even though there was so much respect from the team towards me, if I'd been in the team for ten years and won seven of those Championships and all the race victories that he's won, you're not going to expect the 23-year-old to have the same amount of respect."

Nevertheless, the 26-year-old recently stated he feels confident enough no matter who joins him on the team, as he believes he has proved to himself during the two seasons that he has already driven alongside the most successful driver in F1. He added:

"But now is my third year, it's my fourth year next year with Mercedes. Doesn't really matter who is alongside me in that team because, all of us, we want to fight for the victories."