George Russell represents the future of F1

ZANDVOORT, The Netherlands – Lewis Hamilton says he wants George Russell to be his teammate for Mercedes next year, and it seems increasingly likely that Williams’ driver will replace Valtteri Bottas in 2022.

Russell, led by Mercedes, said Thursday that he was told before the Belgian GP where he plans to drive next year and an official announcement is expected in the coming weeks.

Bottas will move from Mercedes to Alfa Romeo next year to replace Kimi Räikkönen, who announced on Wednesday that he would resign from F1 at the end of the year.

Russell, 23, is in his third season in Formula 1 and placed on the first podium of his career last weekend in the rain-hit Belgian GP.

Asked about Russell joining Mercedes next year, Hamilton said it’s important that the next generation of F1 drivers get a chance with top teams.

“I think it would be pretty good, I honestly think it would be good,” he said. “George is an incredibly talented driver.

“I’d say probably the only highlight from last week was his qualifying round, it was amazing. I think he’s humble, I think he has a great approach.

“Right now, of course, I have to be a very supportive teammate I have right now, so that’s why I always support Valtter because we have a task ahead. Neither of us can win a team championship alone, we have to do it together.

“But I think it would be … He [Russell] is the future, he is one of the future members of the sport. I think he’s already shown an incredible drive so far, and I’m sure he’s still growing. So where better to do it than in such a great team or in any team, wherever he goes? “

Russell has shown great brilliance at Williams over the past three years and excelled at Mercedes when he replaced Hamilton as one of the races at last year’s Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain.

But Hamilton said he did not feel threatened by the 23-year-old, and reiterated that there was respect between them.

“I have nothing to prove,” he added. – I competed as teammates against amazing drivers.

“In my beginner year, I was alongside Fernando [Alonso, two time world champion]. I have nothing to prove.

“If something, if it turns out I have a new teammate, I’m in a different place in my life, I’m excited to see the young people coming through.

“It’s not about, of course, wanting to lose to a young person! But I’m excited to see the sport evolve because I’m a fan of sports at the end of the day.

“You’ve heard me talk about Lando earlier in the year [Norris]. It is encouraging to see these young people coming through. They are tough, I see a lot of myself in the younger generation. I think sport is going to lean forward.

“There are things we learn from each other. I think it’s important that respect is always present and communication is always at its core. We have an amazing framework for our team’s morale. Our process and how the team wrapped their arms around the two drivers.

“That’s why we have harmony in our team. I think we’re much better prepared than in previous years.”

Hamilton’s champion of this year’s championship, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, said he expects Russell to take the fight to Hamilton in a way Bottas hasn’t been able to in recent years.

“If he joins, he will definitely make it very difficult for Lewis,” Verstappen said. “He jumped into the car in Bahrain and basically from the 1st lap he made it very difficult for Valtter, so you can only imagine the more experience you get from the car and the more you get used to the team, naturally you’re going to get faster.

“When you go to your first race, the team will guide you in the installation direction because you just don’t know what to actually do with the car at first. I remember my first race at Red Bull; I said we’ll follow little of what Daniel [Ricciardo] does because I have no idea what this car needs to drive fast because even though F1 cars look pretty similar, the way to set them can be very different.

“Already what you can see in his performance in Spa mode was really good. Of course they put the car a little more in wet conditions, but doing it in Williams was very impressive nonetheless.

“I expect him to do very well if he gets that place.”