Why George Russell is the wild card in the Formula One title shuffle Premium

The 25-year-old went toe-to-toe with teammate Lewis Hamilton last season, showing he is no understudy to the great man. If Mercedes recovers from its 2022 nightmare and gets its car right, Russell could make things very interesting — on the track and in the paddock

If the 2021 Formula One season pitted the old generation against the new — Lewis Hamilton vs. Max Verstappen — last year witnessed the rise of the young crop, with Charles Leclerc becoming one-time karting rival Verstappen’s closest challenger.

So what’s in store for 2023?

Mercedes dropped the ball with the new regulations last year, taking Hamilton out of the equation, but if it gets its act together, the possibilities are delicious. The storyline of Hamilton going for a record eighth title has obvious appeal, but there could also be a wild card in play.

For, while reigning double world champion Verstappen and Leclerc are the de facto team leaders at Red Bull and Ferrari respectively, things are not quite as straightforward at Mercedes.

Hamilton might command the team’s respect because of his stellar record, but won’t have it easy against George Russell’s prodigious talent. The young British driver has excelled at every level leading up to F1 — he is a former BRDC F4, GP3 and F2 champion. What’s more, he outscored his illustrious teammate last year.

While the standings don’t always tell the whole story, they show that, unlike Carlos Sainz at Ferrari or Sergio Perez at Red Bull, Russell is ideally placed to duel Hamilton as an equal.

Former F1 driver and TV pundit Karun Chandhok lauded the 25-year-old’s first season at Mercedes, highlighting his ability to extract the best from a car. “George was outstanding and probably the second-best driver behind Max,” Chandhok said. “He delivered strongly, especially when the car was not strong early in the year.”