George Russell’s reaction to Lewis Hamilton joining Ferrari as Martin Brundle weighs in

Lewis Hamilton’s planned departure to Ferrari at the end of the 2024 F1 season will open the door for George Russell to take over as the senior racer at Mercedes

Martin Brundle believes George Russell could thrive in being “top man” at Mercedes after Lewis Hamilton leaves.

The 2024 season is set to be the seven-time world champion’s last with the Silver Arrows. After 11 years, Hamilton will leave the team to join Ferrari ahead of the 2025 campaign in a move that has rocked the Formula 1 world.

It will bring to an end a golden era for both parties. Though they haven’t enjoyed much success in the last two years, Mercedes won eight constructors’ titles with Hamilton leading their charge on track, while six of the Briton’s seven drivers’ championship successes came while driving for the Silver Arrows.

And it will also end a brilliant British driver partnership at the team. By the end of this year, Russell will have had three full seasons racing alongside Hamilton and learning from the 39-year-old.

Martin Brundle and David Croft say the same thing about Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari move

More than that, Brundle believes Russell has held his own against his much more experienced team-mate. Hamilton out-scored him by 65 points last year but, in their first season together, it was the younger Brit who scored the lion’s share of Mercedes points.

And now that Hamilton is on his way out, the Sky Sports pundit is sure Russell will be licking his lips at the prospect of taking his place as team leader. “He’ll be thinking, ‘That’s good – I am the top man here unquestionably now’,” said Brundle.

“George is ready to pick up the mantle at Mercedes-Benz, there’s no doubt about that at all. And he’s measured himself against statistically and arguably the greatest Formula 1 driver of all time – that’s a debate we can have all afternoon, back to Fangio and Moss.