Star Mercedes driver George Russell has hailed reigning double world champion Max Verstappen after the Dutchman is cruising towards his third title this year. Verstappen’s dominance has been such that even Russell, who once idolized Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, has snubbed the 38-year-old and chosen the Red Bull driver as the top driver of the current grid.
Prior to praising Verstappen, Russell has often labeled Hamilton as the greatest driver of all time. The 25-year-old Briton idolized Hamilton so much that he once even waited for the 38-year-old to sign his book.
And that is not it, as even recently Russell labeled Hamilton as the greatest of all time during a lie detector test. Despite having such a high amount of respect for Hamilton, Russell snubbed his Mercedes teammate for Verstappen when asked to name the top three drivers of the current season.
George Russell is impressed by Max Verstappen’s dominance
Formula 1 is such a ruthless and competitive sport that the focus is only on the top spot. And that is exactly what George Russell is concerned about when asked to name the top three drivers on the current grid.
As quoted by gpblog.com, the Briton said, “Max is the one doing the solid job week in, week out. He’s the number one at the moment. Number two and number three, no one else cares about. We’re all after number one“.
However, he did admit that F1 is not a “level playing field“. He said that the situation in F1 is far from ideal as none of the cars “are the same“. Hence, Russell believes that only when they have the same cars, will they be able to properly judge each other’s skills.
As for Mercedes and Russell, they have a lot to improve if they are to catch up to Red Bull and Verstappen. The Milton Keynes outfit currently has a whopping 154-point lead over the Silver Arrows going into this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix. Considering how the season has panned out so far, it seems unlikely that Mercedes will be able to close this gap.
Mercedes and Toto Wolff eye a win in Silverstone
Since arch-rivals Red Bull are so far ahead, it has undoubtedly been a frustrating time for Mercedes. However, the Silver Arrows have not lost hope yet and are confident of winning at least one race this season.
Team principal Toto Wolff has revealed Silverstone at the circuit where Mercedes will aim for their first win this season. And as Lewis Hamilton and George Russell continue to become more comfortable with the W14, there is every chance that they could win a race.
While all the talks in the Mercedes camp have been to target their first win of the 2023 season, they do need to look over their shoulder as well. Aston Martin, who is currently just 13 points behind Mercedes in the Constructors’ Championship, is breathing down their neck. Hence, before Mercedes targets a win, they will need to make sure that they keep Aston Martin behind them in the championship.
