George Russell is certain: “Had I joined Mercedes earlier, I’d have two world championships”. George Russell believes that had he joined Mercedes earlier, he would have two World Championships.

Ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, set to take place in just over a week, George Russell made a bold statement regarding his rivals. The Englishman joined Mercedes in 2022 to partner with Lewis Hamilton, but the team’s performance plummeted when the ground effect regulations were introduced, with the reigning champions securing only one victory throughout the entire season.

Russell triumphed in São Paulo, finishing the season ahead of the seven-time World Champion in fourth overall. In 2023, Lewis Hamilton finished third with 234 points, while Russell scored 175 points, placing eighth, before the younger British driver once again finished ahead with 245 points the following year.

This result made George Russell the first teammate to finish ahead of Hamilton twice, while Jenson Button (2011) and Nico Rosberg (2016) managed to do so only once.

Speaking about this, in an interview with The Athletic, George Russell said: “Everyone is in the shadow of Lewis. Being teammates with a seven-time world champion for three years is not easy. In the past, if you finished ahead of Lewis Hamilton in a season or a race, you would have won it. If I had been here five years ago, I would now have two championships to my name.”

The Englishman then concluded: “Now I continue to work with the same group of engineers and mechanics. Obviously, Lewis was such an important presence that you can feel he’s no longer here, but in the daily management of things, there’s no difference. I’m still sitting at my desk in front of my computer, warming up in my room, getting into my car, and putting on my helmet. I want to control my own destiny above all.”