George Russell has been confirmed as Lewis Hamilton’s teammate for the 2022 season by Mercedes. He will be leaving Williams and replacing Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas.
In a highly expected and anticipated move, George Russell has been confirmed as Bottas’ replacement for the 2022 season. This comes after Alfa Romeo’s announcement on Monday that Bottas will be joining their ranks for the next season in a multi-year deal.
It’s official. Next year, I’ll be a Mercedes F1 driver. This is a special day for me and I want to say a huge thank you to @WilliamsRacing, @MercedesAMGF1 and everyone who has supported me in getting to where I am today. I couldn’t have done it without every single one of you. 💙 pic.twitter.com/MmGA1vr9mR
— George Russell (@GeorgeRussell63) September 7, 2021
“A Winner in Every Racing Category”
After the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, many fans already started to call for the move to happen. There, Russell covered for Hamilton (who received a positive COVID-19 test) in the Mercedes and led the race until a series of unfortunate events caused him to end up in P9.
Russell, also referred to as “Mr Saturday” due to his brilliant qualifying apperances, often outperforms his car and teammate. Most recently, he placed his Williams on the front row at Spa, and thus gained second place on the podium. He also scored 13 points this season overall for Williams, potentially securing them P8 in the championship.
Toto Wolff, the Mercedes AMG F1 team boss, commented on the driver lineup.
“Looking forward to 2022, we are very happy to confirm that George will have the opportunity to take the next step in his career and join Mercedes. He has been a winner in every racing category – and the past three seasons with Williams have given us a taste of what the future could hold for him in F1.”
Toto Wolff
Moreover, Russell has close ties to Mercedes as a member of their Junior Team, which he joined in 2017. This placed him as the ideal option for the team, which is expecting to keep fighting for championships in yeas to come. His career is also closely managed by Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, who has continuously praised the young driver this season.
George – “Absoluterly Buzzing”
While details of the contract aren’t yet fully known, Mercedes have said the contract is “long-term”. This will almost complete the grid for next season, with only a handful of seats still available. As a result, all eyes are now on Williams, Alfa Romeo and Hass to confirm their lineups for next season.
A huge thank you to Williams and to Mercedes and to everyone who has supported me in getting to where I am today. I couldn’t have done it without every single one of you.
George Russell
Alex Albon could be reappearing in F1 next season, with his name linked to a seat with Williams. On the other hand, Nyck de Vries is linked with a potential move to Formula 1.
Your Take – George Russell Mercedes Driver
Is this the right time to promote the youngster to one of the top-performing F1 cars? Or perhaps this is still too early and he should remain at Williams? We always want to see your opinion on the topics we write about! Either use the form below to comment or take a look at our contact page!
