“It Could Have Damaged His Career”: George Russell Explains How ‘Peak Lewis Hamilton’ Could Have Doomed Max Verstappen

Tanish Chachra | 14/04/2023
"It Could Have Damaged His Career": Max Verstappen Would Have Been Doomed if He Had Debuted Against 'Peak Lewis Hamilton', Claims George Russell

Max Verstappen is probably the fastest man in Formula 1 and currently dominates the entire grid. However, he took around six years to win his maiden championship. Still, he was only 24 back then.

Even though it seems Verstappen just got started, he has been in F1 for a long time and has evolved over the years. But since the beginning, he was seen as a rising talent, and Red Bull even thought of making him the youngest world champion, which they failed by a year.

Red Bull groomed Verstappen to become the world champion and gave him chances when he was ready. That’s why Russell thinks a different career start could have doomed Verstappen’s career.

Lewis Hamilton would have destroyed Max Verstappen

George Russell pondering on the development of a driver claims that had Verstappen debuted at Mercedes with Lewis Hamilton, it could have damaged the Dutchman’s career.

“Max Verstappen obviously got his promotion after 18 months, but perhaps if he went into a team like Mercedes against Lewis Hamilton at the peak of his powers, it could have damaged his career,” said Russell.

That’s why seeing Verstappen’s development, Russell is glad that he is also on the same trajectory. The Mercedes star is grateful that people gave him the right advice at the right time in his career.

The championship is the ultimate target

Russell’s career is on a steady rise. The 25-year-old was promoted to Mercedes in 2021 and was seen as the right candidate to challenge Hamilton’s hegemony within Mercedes.

Though he has met the expectations and been on equal footing with his compatriot, Mercedes is no longer a dominant force. Therefore, Russell, while managing to beat Hamilton, is unable to vie for the championship.

But the goal is the silverware. The Mercedes star is patient to have his chance at the title someday. He claims no matter how many podiums and wins he takes home, they all will be redundant without a championship success.

Post Edited By: Tanish Chachra
George Russell Lewis Hamilton Max Verstappen Mercedes Red Bull

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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