Mercedes chief backs George Russell to join Max Verstappen in HUGE F1 prediction

verstappen, hamilton, russell, spain, 2023 — Photo: © LAT Images

George Russell

Mercedes chief backs Russell to join Verstappen in HUGE F1 prediction

George Russell has been backed to join Max Verstappen in the F1 history books

Joe Ellis

Thursday 10 August 2023 20:57

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Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin believes there is "no doubt" that George Russell will join Max Verstappen in becoming an F1 world champion.

The 25-year-old is already a race winner having taken victory at the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix ahead of Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

2023 has been a tougher year for the King's Lynn-born driver but he has still secured a spot on the podium in Barcelona and led laps in Australia.

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And even though Hamilton is now out-performing Russell in the same car, Shovlin expects it to only be a matter of time until Russell claims a world championship.

Shovlin: He's super focused

George Russell is likely to be the Mercedes team leader when Lewis Hamilton leaves the Silver Arrows

“He's a hugely professional driver who's working very, very hard,” Shovlin said, as per the official F1 website.

“And he’s one of those that you'd say no doubt he'll win a championship at some point, providing we can give him a car that's fit for that job.

“He adapts well to different conditions. All good drivers get better over time, they're focused on looking for every opportunity to improve.

“And when he got pole here last year it was a surprise for us because we didn't have a good Friday. We did make some changes to the car, but he did a fantastic job in qualifying to get that.

“So, he's super focused and no doubt that he'll be part of much success for the team in the future.”