“He can’t stay where he is forever” – George Russell has received the backing of his peers Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen in his quest to move to Mercedes next season.
After Sergio Perez’s confirmation that he will remain with Red Bull in 2022, the F1 world is waiting for Mercedes to announce Lewis Hamilton’s partner for next season.
It is going to be between incumbent Valtteri Bottas and George Russell, with the latter looking more likely. Charles Leclerc believes Russell deserves it, considering his stupendous performances with the below-par Williams.
“I think it is great if George gets that seat because he deserves it.
“It is always very difficult to judge in Formula 1 because the cars are so different and obviously, with George being at Williams it is always difficult to judge how much of a good job he is doing.
“But he is consistently there and showing good things and also in the past I have raced with him and I know how strong he is. So he definitely deserves that spot and I think it will be great to have such a talented driver in that seat.”
george russell and mercedes pic.twitter.com/pqHbivwgHw
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Max Verstappen feels Russell deserves more
Max Verstappen second’s Leclerc opinion, and believes it is high time Russell gets his dream move done. It’ll be quite a tasty tussle at the top, with Hamilton and Russell for Mercedes, Verstappen and Perez for Red Bull, and Leclerc and Carlos Sainz for Ferrari.
“George is very quick and he can’t stay where he is forever. I think he deserves more. At the end of the day, it is up to Mercedes to make the call, so not really from my side but for sure, I rate him very highly as a driver.
“And he is of course very young as well, so it is natural the younger guys, at some point, move up and especially the good drivers.”
