George Russell will be a Mercedes driver next year, joining fellow Briton Lewis Hamilton in the German team however, while on paper it’s a top line-up, there are Formula 1 fans and pundits predicting fireworks but team boss Toto Wolff says their new driver knows the drill.
Mercedes decided that Valtteri Bottas is not the heir apparent for the second ride with the team he joined in 2017, instead, they have hedged their bets on Russell taking over the baton from Hamilton; the question is when does the baton exchange hands and how?
At 23, Russell is getting the break of his life as he gets the most coveted seat in motorsport and will be looking to hit the ground running and deliver from day one, exactly as he did when he got that famous one race chance in Bahrain to sub for an ill Lewis, losing the race only because Mercedes fumbled badly on the day.
Meanwhile, 36-year-old Hamilton is likely to continue to rule the roost for as long as he is around while providing the lofty benchmark for his younger teammate to aspire to, which in itself should be a challenge as Bottas has learnt. But then Russell is no Bottas, it seems…
Speaking to Sportsmail, Wolff said of the Hamilton-Russell partnership for 2021: “This is Mercedes. We have no place for the genius jerk. Even a superstar driver has to respect team values.
“With Lewis, we’ve been eight years together now. He’s not an arrogant, spoiled little kid. He’s a mature racer who has won seven titles, six with us, so we can take those moments, it’s part of our role to be a trash bin for the driver sometimes.
“In the car, you can get very frustrated and emotional. You are racing at 200mph, in the rain, you have no idea about the overall picture of the race and decisions are being made that you cannot understand. In the early years, I would bite back at Lewis.
‘He was very young and I had to make the point that I wouldn’t allow the driver to bad-mouth the team. But we’ve been moved on from there a long time. Still, I wouldn’t hesitate in the future if a driver talked bad about the team or wasn’t appropriate, I would first deal with it internally and if that didn’t yield results I would take the driver out of the car. On the bench, yes.”
Strong words from the sport’s most successful team principal, but Wolff added: “I don’t think that would ever be Lewis. He’s a team member, not a contractor, a driver that comes and goes. We’ve been together since 2013. We know each other so well, there’s so much trust and respect.”
But when Nico Rosberg was Hamilton’s teammate, things got seriously bitter between the pair of former karting mates as they feuded for the title without a challenge from any other team or driver. They collided into each other on occasions, in what must rate as one of the most toxic teammate partnerships since Hamilton and Fernando Alonso shared a garage in 2007.
Wolff recalled the Lewis vs Nico battle: “I was close to putting a driver on the bench when it was Hamilton and Rosberg. Twice. In 2014 and 2016. I said I would judge over 48 hours whether one needed to sit out. I still don’t know who it would have been. But that was long ago. It is unimaginable given the relationship I have with Lewis today that it could happen now.
“And George Russell is another intelligent young man. He will slot into the team but that doesn’t mean he has to hold back when driving. You can’t expect a lion in the car and a puppy out of it.
“But there are certain boundaries within the team that must be respected and George knows them very well.
“Once the lights are green, only the drivers are responsible. I can’t interfere, manage or remote control them, but one thing is of ultimate importance — don’t touch. That’s your responsibility. You can race hard, but no contact.
“I’ve been there before with Nico when it wasn’t just a rivalry. There was a lot of animosity and that’s not going to happen. This is about showing respect for each other and it can be hard because if you race on the same spot on the race track you will eventually come across each other — but there is an integrity we expect that no one is ever bigger than the team.
“The drivers know that. You represent 2,000 people who work for us and 350,000 people who work for Mercedes. So again, you are the solar system and the Mercedes star — that’s the sun.”
With five rounds to go, it is between Hamilton or Verstappen for the F1 drivers’ title, and Mercedes or Red Bull for the F1 constructors’ championship. Both driver and team looking to score their eighth titles come Abu Dhabi at the end of the season.
Asked to pick a preferred F1 title to win, Wolff replied: “I would normally pick the constructors’ championship because it is the acknowledgement of the team, the 2,000 unsung heroes but this year is very different.
“Andrew Shovlin, our chief engineer trackside, said something very interesting. He said if Lewis wins his eighth, Andrew said he would value having engineered his car more than winning the constructors championship. And I think that’s a nice thing to say.
“I’ve been associated with Lewis’ success. We are a team. Being part of his eighth championship, creating that history, would be very, very rewarding. And very, very smart,” concluded Wolff.