George Russell claims Max Verstappen would have ‘damaged his career’ fighting against ‘peak’ Lewis Hamilton in the same team

George Russell believes that Max Verstappen's Formula 1 career wouldn't be as successful as it has been if he had raced alongside a ‘peak’ Lewis Hamilton as his teammate.

Verstappen made his F1 debut with Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2015, making the then-17-year-old the youngest driver in the sport's history. He scored 49 points in his maiden season, along with two P4 finishes.

Four races into the 2016 season, Verstappen was promoted to Red Bull Racing, where he drove alongside Daniel Ricciardo. In his first Grand Prix with the team in Spain, he took victory despite relentless pressure from Kimi Raikkonen. It was the first of seven wins for the Dutchman that season.

Since then, Max Verstappen has established himself as one of the sport's finest drivers. He is currently the reigning two-time F1 champion and leading the drivers' standings in 2023.

Mercedes driver Russell believes Verstappen's career progression from Scuderia Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri) to Red Bull has helped him become the dominant driver he is today. He also opined that Verstappen's career might not have panned out the way it has if he had raced alongside a veteran like Hamilton in his initial F1 years.

He said (via racingnews365.nl):

"Max got his promotion after just eighteen months. If Max had perhaps gone to a team like Mercedes and competed against a peaking Lewis Hamilton, it could have damaged his career."

Russell added:

"So you have to look at it from both sides. Max was a much better driver after he had three or four years of experience compared to when he had 18 months of experience. When you are up against someone who is at his very best and dominates in the car he is used to, then maybe Max wouldn't be in this position today."

George Russell also used Max Verstappen's example as he looked back on the positive from his three-year stint with Williams Racing. He stated that he had no regrets about driving for a team that was considered the weakest on the grid.

The 25-year-old said:

"I have to be grateful to the people who advised me and ultimately put me in this position. In those three years at Williams, I might have been able to fight a little further up front, but if I hadn't driven a Mercedes I wouldn't have been fighting anyway for the world title."

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"I advised him to go that route" - Toto Wolff pushed Max Verstappen to choose Red Bull over Mercedes

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff recently revealed that he had advised Max Verstappen to make a move to Red Bull Racing instead of sticking with Mercedes.

Wolff stated that the Silver Arrows had an opportunity to sign Verstappen in 2014. However, long-term contracts for the team's drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg meant the Austrian decided against signing the Dutchman.

In a conversation with Motorsport Italy, Wolff said:

"I didn't have a Formula 1 steering wheel to offer him [Max Verstappen]. We had Lewis and Nico and both had long-term contracts, Max was clearly an interesting youngster but at that moment we could have offered him a place in GP2 and then maybe a contract."

He added:

"But Helmut [Marko, advisor to the Red Bull GmbH Formula One teams] was able to offer him a seat in Formula 1 and I finally advised him to go that route too. And that meant seeing him leave the Mercedes orbit."