George Russell began his F1 journey in 2019 when he joined Williams. He wasn’t able to compete for wins and Titles at the British outfit, but still put in spectacular performances week in and week out, which convinced Mercedes to sign him in 2022.
Williams themselves are a team that is looking to make big strides in the next few years. They parted ways with former team principal Jost Capito ahead of the 2023 campaign and signed ex-Mercedes strategist James Vowles as the boss. Russell meanwhile, felt that it was the perfect time for him to bring up the old Valtteri Bottas joke in reference to Vowles joining Williams.
During Bottas’ time at Mercedes, the Finn was often ordered to give up his place to Hamilton to help the latter with his championship battles. At the 2018 Russian GP, Vowles, who was the chief strategist for Mercedes, took to the team radio to ask Bottas to give his place. “Valtteri, it’s James,” ended up becoming a meme for years to come.
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George Russell jokingly refers to Valtteri Bottas while congratulating Vowles
Vowles has now left Mercedes to start his journey as the team principal of Williams. He has been a key figure behind Mercedes’ recent success in the sport, so Russell took time out to congratulate him on his new job. However, while doing so, he brought the ‘Valtteri, it’s James’ joke up, but twisted it in a way.
“James, it’s George,” the 24-year-old said. “Congratulations on your new role, thoroughly deserved. Thank you for everything you’ve done for Mercedes and the support you’ve given me along the journey. See you in Bahrain!”
Vowles has been involved in the Mercedes outfit since the team’s return to the sport in 2010. He oversaw three difficult years upon their return, as their chief strategist but then went on to make history. The start of the turbo-hybrid era saw Mercedes win eight consecutive Constructors’ World Championship Titles. Before joining Mercedes, however, he helped Brawn GP and Jenson Button win the 2009 F1 World Championship too.
