George Russell joined Mercedes at the start of last year and has quickly raised himself as a fitting partner of the seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. He was so good in his first season with them that people are assured one day, he’ll be a world champion.
Moreover, he gave a glimmer of hope to Mercedes when he won the Brazilian Grand Prix last year. The only race the Silver Arrows won in 2022. That is a strange statement for a team that annihilated every challenge for eight years.
Before Mercedes, Russell was in Williams, the car that has been seeing the end of the grid for several years. Getting into Mercedes seemed like the Briton wouldn’t see any more struggles in his F1 career and could straight away challenge for the title.
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George Russell points out why he considers the 2020 car as Mercedes’ greatest
Mercedes in 2020 brought out an incredible F1 car in W11 that won over 13 of the 17 races of the season. The second-best team couldn’t even breach mark two. The entire season was just about Mercedes wrapping every race within a few laps.
Moreover, even Russell got to compete with that car when he was filling in for Hamilton, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 back then. So, he knows the feel of it too. That’s why he opines the 2020 car was the peak Mercedes car.
“I think this was probably the best Mercedes car they ever built,” said Russell to AMuS. “I mean, driving it was such a joy, especially coming from Williams, where we scored no points. Driving this [W11], it was like driving a play station.”
He then puts it in contrast with Williams. Unlike at his former team, W11 gave him a sense of safety and comfort to go over the limit. He thinks it’s the fastest Mercedes car amidst their domination.
What do other drivers think?
Russell is not the only driver who thinks the 2020 car was the best ever. There are drivers from different teams who think that the cars from the last generation were probably the greatest work of machinery ever to happen.
Sergio Perez speaking against the 2022 regulations, thought that the cars in 2022 aren’t better than their predecessors from 2017. He backed it by saying that the car felt stiffer, slower, and heavier.
Meanwhile, Lando Norris recently said that the cars from the last generation were more comfortable to drive. The 2020 car with the DAS seemed to be the most dominant force to be on track.
That F1 car running with Hamilton, arguably the greatest F1 driver, was an unstoppable force. So, it wouldn’t be wrong to call the Mercedes W11 the fastest F1 car ever.
Can’t keep cars at home
Many people, including F1 drivers, fancy taking a couple of cars from their profession to home. If not, the entire setup, even the chassis, is a big attraction and can get people to bid on them truckloads of cash in auctions.
But Russell has the privilege of taking one of his cars home as an F1 driver of a top team with big pockets. However, he reasons why he can’t take one.
He claims he can’t fit one of those cars at home, so he never asked his bosses to grant him one. But after the discussion with AMuS, he said he might chat with Toto Wolff about getting one.
