George Russell has hilariously exposed his Formula One rivals for desperately texting him and Toto Wolff about the vacant Mercedes seat for next season. Lewis Hamilton will ditch the Silver Arrows for Ferrari at the start of 2025, leaving a dream place open for a new driver alongside Russell.
The 26-year-old is entering his third season with Mercedes and could be the senior driver in the team next season. There are not many better ways to develop than driving alongside the seven-time world champion Hamilton.
Russell admits that he could have a say in Mercedes’ recruitment of Hamilton’s replacement, pointing out that harmony between drivers is vital. However, the former Williams star has revealed that drivers have already been putting their names forward to take Hamilton’s seat.
Although not naming names, Russell opened up on the recruitment process when asked if he would have an input into naming Hamilton’s successor. The Briton said: “I think for any team it’s important to have good harmony between the drivers, because that trickles down to all of the engineers, and the whole team, but ultimately the decision’s with Toto [Wolff] and the board.
“We’ve already had a lot of conversations and I’ve been with Toto a lot this winter, so seeing the drivers’ names pop up on the telephone has been quite funny and and even on my phone as well, I’ve had a few phone calls and text messages.
“So it’s been quite interesting, but as a team, we’re in a really good opportunity and position to go into this next chapter, [after] so much success with Lewis and Mercedes.”
Russell has played second-fiddle to Hamilton over the last two years and was particularly frustrated by his inability to compete with his veteran team-mate in 2023. However, the driver admits that he would be open to racing alongside another experienced colleague next season and does not necessarily care about being the team’s main star.
