Lewis Hamilton and George Russell congratulate outgoing Mercedes director James Vowles

Both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell congratulated outgoing Mercedes director James Vowles as he moves to Williams this season. Vowles will be taking up the role of the Williams team principal in the Grove-based squad and replacing Jost Capito.

George Russell took to social media to bid farewell to Vowles, a man who has been instrumental in the success achieved by Mercedes over the years. He posted.

"James, it’s George. Congratulations on your new role, thoroughly deserved. Thank you for everything you’ve done for Mercedes and the support you’ve given me along the journey. See you in Bahrain!"

Lewis Hamilton too wished Vowles the best of luck in his new role as Williams' team principal. He wrote,

“Thanks for everything, James. wishing you well in your new role"

Toto Wolff too bid Vowles farewell in the Mercedes press release as he said,

"While we are naturally sad to be saying goodbye to such a capable member of the team, I have no doubts whatsoever that he has all the necessary skills to become a fantastic Team Principal in Formula One. We wish him every success and are delighted that he will take this next step in his career with Williams, a strong technical partner of ours and one that has a place close to my own heart."

Mika Hakkinen weighs in on the George Russell-Lewis Hamilton rivalry

Mika Hakkinen recently weighed in on the Lewis Hamilton-George Russell rivalry at Mercedes. The former McLaren driver was very impressed specifically at how Russell was able to hold off Lewis Hamilton in Brazil and win the race. He said,

“What he did in Brazil, it was brilliant. The team improved the car massively, so they could win races. Is he able to continue that trend? If he can keep with that experience what he has in Mercedes, and experience what he has in Formula 1 in general, he can keep Lewis behind. It’s really impressive. Because Lewis is incredible. Incredible personality, incredible driver. So if George can go for it, then I think England can look like ‘Wow, what a driver we have."

Russell was able to outscore Hamilton last season in his very first year at Mercedes. What was even more surprising was Russell picking the most important moments for the team as well.

Whether it was the sole pole position for a Mercedes driver in Hungary, or it was the only win for the team in Brazil, it was Russell at the forefront of every important result for the team.