F1 News
Russell puts himself in the spotlight: 'Difficult for Toto to say no'
- GPblog.com
With the British Grand Prix as his home race and tens of thousands of British fans in front of George Russell, the story surrounding the Brit and the seat at Mercedes is getting some more attention again. At Sky Sports they expect the Williams driver to have the best chance of making the switch to the reigning world champions.
According to Damon Hill, Russell's good result on Friday got plenty of attention. "[Yesterday helped Russell] an enormous amount. it makes it very difficult for Toto to put up a barrier and say I'm sorry you'll have to wait for another year. They want balance within the team and does Hamilton have an objection to Russell going alongside him?", Hill wonders.
What does Hamilton want?
"I don't think he minds, he's established himself and is confident enough to take on someone like George Russell in the same team side by side," said Hill. Jenson Button himself thinks Hamilton has a slight preference for his current teammate. "Lewis understands Valtteri as a person and a driver. He's been there a number of years alongside him. Having someone like George come in like he did in Bahrain, and lead the race...it's a very different teammate."
"Toto is the boss, he makes the call. He makes the call with the better decision for the team. With Valtteri 2nd and 3rd, it's good for the team because it doesn't put unwanted pressure on Lewis. But if he's finishing 5th or 6th and not getting enough points for the championship...it's a tricky decision. We all want the two quickest drivers in the fastest car, but the bosses don't normally want that," Button concludes.