NEW DELHI: George Russell has come out in support of his former Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, saying Hamilton’s Ferrari struggles are understandable — but the Briton’s brilliance is far from fading. According to Russell, fans caught a glimpse of that brilliance during Hamilton’s commanding Sprint win in China, and there’s more of that “magic” on the way.
Hamilton shocked the F1 world when he made the high-profile switch from Mercedes to Ferrari at the start of the 2025 season, ending a 12-year stint filled with championships and records. However, adapting to a new car like Ferrari’s SF-25 hasn’t been smooth. Despite being one of the most experienced drivers on the grid, the seven-time World Champion is yet to secure a podium in a full race this season — his best finish so far being P5 in Bahrain.
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That said, his Sprint victory in Shanghai has given fans hope — and George Russell believes that performance was a taste of what’s to come.
“We saw it in China, second race of the season, on pole in the Sprint, wins the race comfortably,” Russell said during the media day ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
“I know what he’s capable of, and it’s not easy going into a new team and the competition is tough, but he’s an amazing driver and I’m sure, when things start to click, as they did in China, we’ll see more of that magic.”
Russell Eyes Title Fight, But Admits McLaren Are the Real Threat
Russell himself is enjoying a solid start to his 2025 campaign, standing on the podium in three of the opening four races. While Mercedes trails McLaren in the Constructors’ standings by 58 points, they remain second — something Russell credits partly to McLaren’s own mistakes.
“My aspirations are to fight for the World Championship and, being realistic, we don’t have a car to fight McLaren,” he said.
“They could probably have finished first and second in every race this year, but they’ve given the rest of us a few opportunities.”
He admits both he and Max Verstappen have “jumped on the podium probably one too many times” thanks to McLaren’s errors — a scenario he believes won’t repeat over 24 races.
Jeddah Will Be a Real Test, Says Russell
As F1 heads into the high-speed streets of Jeddah, Russell expects the grid to tighten once again. Bahrain’s race was a confidence boost for Mercedes, but every track presents a new challenge.
“It was a great race, great weekend [in Bahrain],” he said.
“It was sort of the validation we needed from the car going to a totally different track. A lot of tyre overheating versus the easy degradation of Suzuka and China — to see if we’ve built a more rounded car, and we clearly have.”
However, he remains cautious ahead of the Saudi Arabian GP.
“Red Bull had an off weekend – I expect them to be fast here, similar to Suzuka because there are some similarities with the high speed, smooth tarmac,” Russell predicted.
“But then again, we’ve got the softest compound of tyres which is also good. It’s what we’ve been chasing for a little while, so [I’m] really happy to see Pirelli bringing that forward.”
With the season still in its early stages, both Russell and Hamilton are chasing momentum — in different cars, but with the same hunger for success.
