George Russell Isn’t Safe at Mercedes Even if He Remains De-facto Leader in 2025; Claims F1 Expert

Lewis Hamilton will join Ferrari in 2025, bidding goodbye to an illustrious 11-year stint with Mercedes. His departure would see George Russell take over the role of the senior driver, having been with the team for three years. However, according to Sky F1 presenter Naomi Schiff, it is not a given.

Before the start of the qualifying in Imola, Schiff said, as quoted by Sky Sports, “It’s an important time as whilst we are talking about who is going to take that seat that Lewis is leaving behind, I don’t think it necessarily means George is safe for the test of time.”

“He’s also got of prove why he deserves to stay there as by the sounds of things there are quite a lot of drivers in the motorsport ecosystem who are vying for a seat at Mercedes.”, she added.

Schiff also lauded Russell for putting up a worthy fight against Hamilton. The #63 driver beat his seven-time champion teammate on points in his first season with Mercedes in 2022.

While Hamilton managed to pull one back on him in 2023, Russell has once again claimed the bragging rights in 2024. So far in the season, the 26-year-old has out-qualified his teammate by six to one. In the race head-to-head, again, he is leading by five to one.

This is the situation as Mercedes is going through statistically its worst season so far. Amidst the slump, George Russell is extracting the best he can out of the car. However, none of his performances have turned out to be extraordinary as a podium finish remains elusive.

Desperate to turn their fate, Mercedes management will perhaps not shy away from taking radical steps. Lewis Hamilton is already on his way out. But it wouldn’t be surprising if the management opts to go for a complete overhaul in the driver lineup.

Mercedes hunting for solutions

Ever since the constructors’ championship win in 2021, Mercedes has remained trophyless for more than two years. The ground-effect era has seen their engineers struggle to get a hold of the concept. Amid all this, the exodus of key figures hasn’t stopped with Loic Serra and Jerome d’Ambrosio being the latest to depart.

Toto Wolff needs to take some necessary steps to make sure the slow run does not continue once the new set of regulations comes into play in 2026. But is showing George Russell the exit door really the solution to it?

The chassis design unit is perhaps the area that needs an overhaul. Engines have always been the Silver Arrows’ strength. The same is visible in the performances of teams like McLaren and Aston Martin who have shown tremendous improvement as time passed. Shifting blame on drivers like George Russell would perhaps not be the smartest choice for Toto Wolff.