With the start of the season of Formula 1 in Melbourne, a new era begins for Mercedes. After the departure of Lewis Hamilton, hopes rest mainly on George Russell. Team boss Toto Wolff trusts the Briton to the top.
“So the George is at the forefront – and if we are able to give a quick car, it drives around a World Cup,” the Mercedes boss stated in an interview with the “ORF”.
For Toto Wolff it is clear: George Russell showed especially last season that he was carved out of the wood of a champions. “The drivers who drive around a win are all hard and brutal and absolutely want that,” said Toto Wolff.
And at the latest his feud with Max Verstappen has proven that Russell “doesn’t put up with anything” when he is on the track.
The 27-year-old is also at the forefront. From Wolff’s point of view, Russell is currently wrongly placed in the second row of top drivers.
Formula 1 start of the season in Australia is imminent
“Of course you see, or you forget when you talk about Verstappen or Hamilton or Andrea, which Great Success had had.
The list of Russell successes is long. “The George has become a European European champion, British champion, has achieved everything. He won the British Formula 4 in the first year, has become Formula 3 champion in the first year, has become Formula 2 champions in the first year and was then also relatively clear in Formula 1 the ringlead at Williams. Back then, if not the team mistakes had happened. “
Whether he can really win the title of Formula 1 world champion this year will be shown in the coming months. Already at the start of the season on Sunday in Australia, there could be the first indications of how good the Mercedes really is.
Toto Wolff first sets a small stage. “If we ran around the podium at the front, it would be a great success,” he said.