JANUARY 8, 2024
Top Ten of 2023 - Seventh - George Russell
George Russell
© Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
By Luis Vasconcelos
This year was an eye opener for George Russell, who arrived in Bahrain confident he had the measure of Lewis Hamilton, after a great first season with Mercedes in 2022, but soon discovered the veteran had another gear, now that the team handed them a car the seven-times World Champion could trust. Russell’s speed remains unquestioned, but his race management and some of his moves in traffic came into close scrutiny as he involved himself ina a few too many scuffles and even made a last lap mistake in Singapore that cost him a safe third place.
That he only stood on the podium twice, in Spain and Abu Dhabi, says it all about how his season compared with Hamilton’s, but there were quite a few flashes of tremendous speed, particularly in qualifying, that proved the younger Brit has the potential to take over from his illustrious team mate when the time will come for Hamilton to finally retire. The lessons from 2023, though, will have to be taken in quickly, to make Russell an even stronger driver already next year.