George Russell Reveals His Mindset In The Preseason Before Joining Lewis Hamilton At Mercedes In 2022!

George Russell has been the find of the season for Mercedes. The 24-year-old has impressed with his consistent top-five finishes during his rookie season for the Silver Arrows. Russell made a move to Mercedes after driving for Williams for three years. He ended his former team\’s points drought and secured a podium in Belgium last year. And since his move to the German team, Russell has been in fine form despite the team\’s troubles with their new W13.

Russell seemed to have better control over the troubled car as compared to Lewis Hamilton since the start of the season. The Mercedes driver has outperformed his seven-time world champ teammate and currently sits fifth in the drivers\’ championship, 19 points ahead of Hamilton. The Briton has finished top five in every race except an unexpected DNF in Silverstone after an opening lap collision with Zhou Guanyu.

Recently, George talked about his thought process when he was about to sign a contract with Mercedes in the preseason. The Briton told that joining the Silver Arrows was a risk to his F1 career as he would have been arse-kicked by his champion teammate Lewis Hamilton. Talking to Beyond the grid podcast, George Russell states that things change quite quickly in F1. He admitted that signing a contract with the greatest team of the era was a huge moment for his career. However, George pointed out that if he did not perform and got his arse kicked by the greatest driver ever, he would have been out the door in about a year\’s time.

The Briton further shared that joining Mercedes was a huge step up the ladder. However, he compared progressing in F1 to a mountain climb. He thinks he\’s at the top, and he looks up, and the peak\’s miles away. \”And you get there, and there\’s another peak, and that\’s kind of the way I look at it,\” Russell added. Moreover, the Briton shared his dream of being a world champion and win raised. But, signing a contract with Mercedes did not guarantee anything.

George Russell Had No Expectations During A Move To Mercedes

Russell has been one of the most consistent drivers across the circuit this year. He has been able to extract the performance to stay in the top five with a struggling W13. The Briton is currently fifth in the drivers\’ championship, five points behind Ferrari\’s Carlos Sainz. George shared that he had zero expectations at the start of the season. He headed into the season with an aim to focus on himself. George Russell always believed he would be able to get some good performances once he got through the starting few races in 2022 and understood the car to be able to maximize it.

Thus, George Russell accepted in his mind ahead of the preseason that if he were two-tenths behind Lewis in the opening two races, it would not be a big deal. And if he were ahead, it would not be a big deal either. Russell just wanted to focus on himself and get the most out of the opportunity. The 24-year-old concluded, \”I think it has been a relatively good start to the season.\”