Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc said that can he see parallels with George Russell’s arrival at Mercedes next to Lewis Hamilton to when he joined the Italian side as team-mate to four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel, who at the start of the current season moved to Aston Martin.
George Russell was finally officially confirmed this week as a Mercedes driver for the 2022 Formula 1 championship, when the 23-year-old will replace the long-serving Valtteri Bottas next to Hamilton after three really impressive years alongside Williams.
Two years ago and it was Charles Leclerc, at that moment 21, who arrived under the spotlight at Scuderia Ferrari in order to partner a multiple world champion, Sebastian Vettel, after a strong first season in Formula 1 for Sauber. And despite the huge experience difference, Charles thrived in his first season and outscored the four-time champion at the first attempt.
Hamilton will clearly represent the ultimate challenge for Russell. But, having gone up against one of the sport’s greats himself, Charles Leclerc believes Russell, who he has raced against since the junior formula, will also do well:
“This is a pretty similar situation to mine when I arrived in Ferrari with Seb by my side,” Charles Leclerc explained, as reported by Sky Sports F1 – “It’s a great position to be in. George is very talented and he’ll be next to one of the best in the history of this sport so he doesn’t have much to lose, which is a good position to be in. He can just give it everything and show his talent. I’m pretty sure he will show to the world his talent.” – the Ferrari driver concluded.
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