George Russell confident: “With the right car, I can fight for the F1 World Championship”. George Russell has gained even more confidence in his abilities.

George Russell, the new leader at Mercedes
With Lewis Hamilton now having moved to Scuderia Ferrari in Maranello, George Russell has become the cornerstone of the Mercedes team. The Briton held his own against the seven-time world champion and, in 2024, consistently outperformed him in qualifying (19-5) and in races (13-7 in Grand Prix events where both finished).

Achieving such results against an F1 legend is a source of pride for George Russell, who now feels ready to fight at the very top. Perhaps as soon as 2025, if Mercedes can make the leap forward that McLaren and Ferrari have already accomplished to challenge Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship.

George Russell’s comments
“I’m very pleased with my performances in 2024. I think I’ve never been this strong in qualifying: every time the car was capable of being on pole, we achieved it (four poles this season – Montreal, Silverstone, Las Vegas, and Lusail),” George Russell told *Motorsport Week*. “The only race that really went poorly among those was Canada.”

“These results give me confidence. If we build the right car, we’ll be able to fight for and win the championship,” he continued. “Every opportunity we had this year, we seized. As a team, we’ve won almost as many races as McLaren, which is incredible.” – the Mercedes driver concluded.