© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
George Russell says he’d have “nothing to lose” if he were to compete against Lewis Hamilton in the same team, so he considers it to be a “win-win scenario”.
With Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes contract being extended for another two years, the only question that remains is who his team-mate will be.
The choice for Mercedes is between their current driver – Valtteri Bottas, and their junior driver – George Russell.
As far as Russell is concerned, he is happy that Lewis is staying in Formula 1 because this means he might get the opportunity to compete against him in the same car.
“I’m really pleased that Lewis is staying in the sport,” the Briton told Motorsport-total.com
“He’s clearly a global superstar and is still riding at an exceptional level. I think he’s like a good wine, he gets better with age.
“Personally I want to compete against the best drivers in the world and I honestly think we have a really good group of drivers on the grid at the moment who deserve to be here.
Russell also explains how driving alongside a driver of Lewis’ caliber would actually take the pressure off of him.
“Everyone wants to go up against the best driver,” the Briton told AutoCar.
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“Everyone believes in themselves, but for me, I’d love that challenge because the pressure would be off and I’d find myself in a win-win scenario.
“I’d go in with that mentality if I ever found myself up against one of the best drivers of all time. You have got nothing to lose – which I think is great really.
“That is the sort of situation that Sergio Perez finds himself in at the moment.
“He’s got no pressure because he’s got nothing to lose – and so you go out there and enjoy it, and show them what you can do.”
Ultimately Russell thinks he is ready to step into a Mercedes.
“I believe in myself and I feel ready to fight for victories and World Championships.
“I had the massive challenge in Bahrain last year, being thrown in at the deep end with no preparation and no laps in the car.
“I think it has been proven how difficult it is to jump between cars and get up to speed. I felt far from up to speed for that race but we still managed to do a pretty decent job.
“S I think I feel ready, obviously,” concluded the young Briton.
