Sebastian Vettel claimed George Russell has what it takes to win a Formula 1 Championship if he is given the proper tools and support to do so.
Vettel, who was presented with the Gregor Grant Award for his lifetime achievements in motorsport, during the Autosport Awards, was speaking to Sky Sports TV and was asked about George Russell’s chances of winning an F1 Title.
“It’s so difficult to say,” he admitted. “But if he gets the right car, the right equipment, the right team – and I think he’s in a good place – then yeah I think he’s got the talent and skill.
“There’s more than talent and skill needed but he seems to be hard-working, so yeah he’s got a good chance,” Vettel maintained.
Mercedes’ George Russell, who was also handed the 2022 Moment of the Year Award for his first career F1 win at the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix told Sky Sports F1 he was ready to go for the Title.
“I feel absolutely ready to win a world championship,” he insisted. “I’ve felt ready for a couple of years now. I think having this season next to Lewis has been huge for me personally to learn some of the little details, how to get more out of my car, more out of my team, and extracting everything out of the package when it truly matters.
“And I’m definitely going to have a really strong winter,” Russell vowed. “I’m going to work really hard with my team. Every single person at Mercedes’ factory is going to be pushing like hell to deliver a car, to give us a chance to go fight next season.”
P4 in the Championship cannot be celebrated
Russell beat decorated teammate Lewis Hamilton in their first season together at Mercedes, the younger Briton fourth in the F1 Drivers’ compared to sixth to the elder who failed to win a race in a season for the first time since his debut in 2007.
Asked about his achievement, Russell said: “I guess if you told me that at the start of the year, I would have been extraordinarily happy because if you beat Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes, most of the time that means you be a world champion.
He then added: “Obviously, I would take the positives away from the season, but I’m not going to celebrate finishing P4 in the championship.
“I’m going to celebrate winning the race in Brazil because that was a huge achievement for myself and the whole team. But the fact is, we’re all here to win and we’re here to win world championships. So we’ve not done a perfect job this season. We’ve had a relatively clean and smooth season with the car and package we’ve had.
“But to the standards this team set, some standards I set myself… it’s not good enough and we need to go on next year and give it more,” the 24-year-old concluded.
💬 “I really hope we get this opportunity again…”
Two years ago, George cruelly lost his shot at a first race win at Sakhir. 😣
Two years later, he’s an @F1 winner. 💙🏆 pic.twitter.com/UKM683O1WG
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) December 6, 2022
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