George Russell, not Lewis Hamilton is the future of Mercedes, according to former F1 race winner

Johnny Herbert feels George Russell, not Lewis Hamilton, is going to be the future of Mercedes as contract negotiations with the F1 legend continue to linger on. Lewis has not had a championship-winning car in the last two seasons and the team has struggled to keep up with the sharp end of the grid.

The last two seasons have seen Red Bull and Max Verstappen become more and more dominant with the Austrian team peaking in terms of dominance this season. For Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, the last couple of seasons have seen him get a new teammate in George Russell.

Russell has replaced Valtteri Bottas and has done a much better job within the team.

So much so that it's hard to choose between the two Mercedes drivers at this stage as Russell did eventually outscore Hamilton last season.

Talking about the future as the contract extension continues to be a hot topic, Herbert said that the German outfit was in a very lucky position. They already had Russell, who can deliver everything that the team needs. He told OLBG:

“Mercedes are in a very lucky position because we are all very aware of what George Russell does. He has really stepped up and he has really put Hamilton under a lot of pressure. Russell is the future, whatever we think of Hamilton, who we know is still good enough to win races. Russell is more than capable of being the driver to produce what Mercedes need and who will be very beneficial to them in the future.”

Herbert urges Lewis Hamilton to consider a move to Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton

Herbert, on the other hand, has urged Lewis Hamilton to consider a move to Ferrari. The former F1 race winner admitted that the Italian squad has far too many things wrong with it, but at the same time, there is a lot on offer as well.

"Hamilton has been on the verge of signing for about a month or more, but I am still thinking there is this Ferrari chance. I know they have denied it, but the deal hasn’t been done at Mercedes. They keep saying it’s close. I wonder if there is still something else going on outside this."

He added:

“I think it is worth a punt by Lewis as I see it that Mercedes, despite the improvement in Barcelona, are still way behind the curve when it comes to challenging Red Bull and to winning races. Ferrari have a hell of a lot of potential which they can bring to the table. I still have a question mark about Mercedes Benz at this time.”

Lewis Hamilton's future has become a hot topic as the date of his contract extension continues to get delayed. To be fair, it's hard to see him going anywhere else but Mercedes, especially with what else is there on offer.