With 14 championships between them, one would expect the Lewis Hamilton-Mercedes partnership to be a story of all success and no struggle. However, that statistic does not do justice to the hardships they endured together. This ride of ups and downs, Andrew Shovlin believes, made them intertwine to form a fabric that would be incomplete after Hamilton’s departure.
On F1’s Beyond The Grid Podcast, when asked what Shovlin will miss Hamilton the most for, he replied, “If you look at Lewis’ contribution to this team, it’s impossible to really say what it is because he has redefined the direction of the team. He’s sort of woven into the fabric of it in a way that you can’t imagine it without him. We have become the team that we are today as a result of Lewis.”
Imagine… Thank You, Lewis pic.twitter.com/mG90j2cvqA
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) December 5, 2024
Shovlin counts Hamilton’s commitment to diversity as one of his biggest contributions to Mercedes and F1. He lauded the seven-time champion for not just investing his time and effort into ensuring the team’s success on the track but also for their projects away from it.
Finally, Shovlin dubs the time spent with Hamilton as “a phenomenal chapter” in the team’s history. He hailed the 39-year-old for being a leader. That quality, Shovlin believes, is what Mercedes will miss him the most for.
George Russell to fill the vacuum left by Hamilton
Once the news of Hamilton leaving Mercedes broke, many expected the team to replace him with an experienced driver. However, Toto Wolff and Co. chose to do the opposite by signing Andrea Kimi Antonelli, a rookie. With that, by default, the team rested the senior driver’s role on George Russell’s shoulders.
Russell is 26 and has already spent three years with Mercedes. While it would be a tall ask to fill the shoes of Hamilton, Wolff is confident Russell is up to the task.
“George has all he needs to step in the more senior role in the team and take the leadership when it maybe comes to technical decisions on set-ups that need to be taken. I have great confidence in him,” the team boss said.
2025 is going to be a year of transition for Mercedes. In the absence of Hamilton and the new set of regulations right around the corner, the Silver Arrows will look to use the upcoming season as a platform to iron out any hurdles. Giving Russell the required time to settle into his new role would be one of those transitional hurdles.
