George Russell is a “High Risk” and things can get “really intense”, claims former Lewis Hamilton rival

Former World Champion Nico Rosberg claims that if the new Mercedes hot prospect matches the pace of the 7 times world champion, things could get “really intense” within the team next year.

With the departure of Valtteri Bottas to Sauber Alfa Romeo, Mercedes bring in 23-year-old George Russell as the perfect replacement to compete against 7-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton.

George Russell filled in for the Briton at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix when the latter missed out due to COVID complications.

Mercedes have always rated George as a future prospect who is bound to win the driver’s championship in the future. We saw a few glimpses of it at the Sakhir Grand Prix when he led the race only to be denied a podium due to a rear left puncture leading to a pitstop.

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Is George always going to back out, or is he going to get his elbows out? – Rosberg assures an unpredictable Russell VS Hamilton in 2022

Talking with Sky Sports F1, a former rival of the number 44 appreciated the new entrant mentioning incidents of the past and how the team’s dynamic can change:

“I think that Bahrain race is what helps George most because Valtteri is a reference, he knows how Valtteri goes in qualifying with Lewis, often they’re nip and tuck, right there, and especially in Bahrain.”

“And George was right there with Valtteri straight away, so that will give George a lot of confidence that he can get the job done and he will be quick enough.

“It was a difficult decision for Toto because the risk is quite high. If George is really on exactly the same pace as Lewis, it could become really intense in the team.

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“There are a lot of unknowns there, is George always going to back out, or is he going to get his elbows out? That’s just going to be so great to watch.”

We will have to wait for a few months before witnessing the new generation vs the old generation rivalry as the new season commences in Baharain on 18th March 2022.