George Russell arrived at Mercedes in style. In the debut season, alongside seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton and a challenging W13, ridden with numerous problems, he managed to finish 4th on the board ahead of Carlos Sainz. Safe to say, at Mercedes, he played a more mature role than expected as a 24-year-old. But was his journey to joining the eight-time consecutive constructors’ champions easy? Certainly not.

The driver, after having won the 2018 F2 championship, joined Williams in 2019 and competed with them for three years; he had only 16 points to his name in a Williams car, with the first coming in 2021, his last year there. While many believe his time at Williams helped him adapt better than Lewis, the driver considers his time with his fellow British teammate to be more valuable than his time at Williams.

In an interview with the GP Fans, Russell said, “You can’t buy experience, so having that chance to be in the garage next to him and sit opposite him in the engineer’s office is probably helping me gain a few years of experience.”

“It is maybe making up for my three years where I was trying to lead the team at Williams when I actually had very little experience in that regard.”

Despite 22 Rounds of Struggle, George Russell Reveals Mercedes Masterplan Continues With Controversial Concept

The statement also attests to the role that Lewis Hamilton played at Mercedes, which was certainly more than just a driver. Certainly, it was the chemistry and understanding between the two that helped the team keep its morale high despite the problematic W13.

George Russell on his relationship with Lewis Hamilton 

The two drivers have been said to be close for years, going back to the F2 days of Russell. And it reflects, given their dealing with the hard times in 2022.

Speaking about his relationship with Lewis, Russell recalled, “It helped that when I was in Formula 2, I’d often fly with Lewis from some of the races and spend time with him in the engineering office, so we naturally had a good relationship, anyway.” 

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“Seeing how he works with the team has been a really good opportunity for me to learn from someone who has more experience than anyone – except Fernando [Alonso] – on this grid.”

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The next season might actually prove to be a test for the duo. If Mercedes does develop a competitive car and the two go head-to-head, it’d be interesting to see how the team’s orders are followed and whether the two can keep their cars in their right lanes.