George Russell chooses Michael Schumacher as his racing idol instead of his to-be teammate Lewis Hamilton at the Mercedes.
George Russell made a step up to Mercedes from Williams for the 2022 season. He will be taking a seat alongside Lewis Hamilton and has replaced Valtteri Bottas who has further teamed up with Alfa Romeo for the upcoming season.
In a video released by Mercedes, Russell revealed some of the facts about himself. When asked who was his racing idol, he said, “I’d say my racing idol would be Michael Schumacher.”
Hamilton equalled Schumacher’s record of seven titles in 2020 and has outdone most of his other records as well. However, there is definitely no comparison between the two as to who is the legend.
Many in the F1 contingent have claimed that Russell would be fighting head-to-head with Hamilton to beat him to the championship.
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George Russell prefers wet races
Further in the video, Russell’s new team asked him what does he prefer wet race or a dry race? Russell unhesitatingly said, “I love a wet race.”
“I achieved my first podium in Formula One from a wet qualifier, not necessarily a wet race. But whichever one we’re fast is the one I like the most. But I do like wet races .”
Russell scored his first podium finish during a wet-qualifying race at the Belgian Grand Prix in 2021. He finished second behind Max Verstappen.
At the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, the race was a bit delayed due to wet weather and ultimately only two laps were completed, both under safety car conditions. This allowed Russell to maintain his grid position and claim his first Formula One podium finish.
Russell also stepped in for Hamilton during the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix as the latter had tested Covid-19 positive. In the pre-event press conference, Russell had said that he felt “no pressure” as the team principal Toto Wolff expected that the car would finish in the first five.
