After 12 years at Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton will move to Ferrari in 2025. Following his departure, the seven-time champion has no doubt that his Mercedes teammate George Russell will take over the role of leader because of the latter’s close connection with team principal Toto Wolff.
While asked about the same during the Bahrain GP press conference, Hamilton replied as per deni on X, “I don’t know. I’m sure he can. Yeah, I don’t really know what else to say about it but yeah George is very technical, he’s massively engaging. He’s obviously come a long way since when he was at Williams and since he joined the team. He’s obviously incredibly close with Toto, so no doubt that will be his position.”
Testing done. Thanks to the team in Bahrain and back home for all the hard work. Now let’s go racing. pic.twitter.com/PnfGPKqXq8
— George Russell (@GeorgeRussell63) February 23, 2024
Russell arrived at Brackley in 2022 when Wolff decided to replace Valtteri Bottas. In his first year itself, the 26-year-old made it very clear that he wasn’t there to play second fiddle to the seven-time world champion. Interestingly, Russell ended up beating Hamilton in that year itself.
However, the 39-year-old took back the charge in 2023 by beating his compatriot. Now, with Hamilton all set to feature in his final year at Mercedes, it’ll be interesting to see if Russell can beat the 39-year-old again in 2024 or not. As for Hamilton, he wants to end his partnership with Mercedes on a high by trying once again to find for the eighth title.
Lewis Hamilton has promised to end his Mercedes partnership on a high
After the news about his switch to Ferrari broke out, Lewis Hamilton took to his social media accounts and put up an emotional post. There, he discussed his glory days with Mercedes. With this, he also stated that 2025 is not his cause of concern for now.
F1 2024. Here we come pic.twitter.com/vvYL8BAx6P
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) February 14, 2024
The former McLaren star wants to give his absolute best this year and help the Silver Arrows recover from their slump. Since Hamilton is not going to be with the team for much longer, George Russell is not under huge pressure. The 26-year-old’s contract lasts until the end of the 2025 season and is expected to extend it beyond that in the near future.
