Mika Häkkinen sees Russell beating Hamilton and becoming the world champion

George Russell had an extremely impressive debut season at Mercedes, securing the only pole position at the Hungarian round and most importantly, the only victory for the German team in Brazil in 2022. Additionally, he finished fourth in the driver standings with a 35-point lead over Lewis Hamilton.

Last year, the behavior of the W13, described as capricious by Hamilton, was severely hindered by bickering. A lengthy and tedious understanding and development process that proved successful with the performance displayed in the final races of the season.

Russell nevertheless managed to adapt well to the race car. A overall performance that did not go unnoticed by the double world champion, Mika Häkkinen, who can see a new great season for the individual in question.

« If he can keep with this experience what he has at Mercedes and the experience he holds in Formula 1 in general, he can keep Lewis behind. It’s really impressive.

» If he can retain the experience he has with Mercedes and the experience he holds in Formula 1 in general, he can keep Lewis behind. It’s truly impressive.

Because Lewis is incredible. Incredible personality, an incredible driver. So, if George can make it, then I think England can say “Wow, what a driver we have”, commented Häkkinen in a conversation with Top Gear.

And when asked what Russell needs to improve in 2023, he indicates: « The list is incredibly long when you start fine-tuning every aspect of being a race driver. But he already has a very long career behind him.

Speaking of karting, all these other categories and his knowledge of the data, his abilities to manage the car in extreme situations… I am convinced that he has all the potential to be a great driver, the potential to become a world champion.

Mercedes has revealed the launch date of its new car on February 15th and hopes to fight for the title again in 2023 with Russell and Hamilton.