© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Former F1 driver David Coulthard says George Russell will be “young and full of energy” when he arrives at Mercedes, but he’ll eventually get “worn down by the relentlessness of Lewis”.
George Russell will be arriving at Mercedes in 2022 and the main narrative going around is that of the young Briton immediately challenging Lewis Hamilton.
David Coulthard has a different take, he believes it is George who will face a challenge unlike he has ever faced before. When Channel 4 suggested that it will immediately “kick off” between Russell and Hamilton, Coulthard agreed.
“It will, absolutely. It will be the making of George up against the driver of a couple of generations,” the Scot said.
“This is where George Russell becomes the making of a future World Champion. Because he hasn’t been pushed by any of his team-mates, it will be very different with Lewis.
“In the beginning, he will just be young and full of energy, he will be fresh and then he will get worn down by the relentlessness of Lewis, and that’s the point at which he will grow as a man,” Coulthard concluded.
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Despite the expected competitiveness between the two drivers, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff believes the team can prevent another Hamilton/Rosberg situation.
“No, every relationship is different,” said the Austrian.
“I think we learned a lot since the years with Nico and we will be able to handle the situation. I think George will learn an awful lot from Lewis because he is the best driver that has ever been there.
“So in my opinion, we just need to give him time. For sure he will approach the topic and say ‘well, I don’t need any time, I’m going flat out’. But it will need time.
“I want to keep the right dynamic and momentum in the team and it’s going to be just good,” concluded Wolff.
