"I’m picking Lando Norris over George Russell" - Jolyon Palmer thinks Mercedes made a mistake in their F1 driver line-up for 2022 season

Former F1 driver-turned-pundit Jolyon Palmer thinks Mercedes made a mistake in picking George Russell to drive for them from the 2022 season onwards. Palmer feels that the world champion team missed an opportunity to sign an in-form Lando Norris to team up with Lewis Hamilton.

When Jack Nicholls, the host of the F1: Checquered Flag podcast, claimed that he would have chosen Norris over Russell, had he been in charge at Mercedes, Palmer agreed and said:

“I’m going with Lando (Norris).”

“The way that he held off Lewis Hamilton at the end of that Sochi race until the strategy and the tire choice got away from him, was unbelievable.”

“For a guy that has never won a race, to have a seven-time World Champion breathing down his neck in a Mercedes, then it starts raining, and he’s still off the road a couple of times, scrabbling around, but keeping Hamilton, we all know how good he is in the wet, behind him, it was really legendary stuff I think from Norris.”

“I wonder if Lando this year has put himself in the top bracket, alongside Lewis (Hamilton) and Max (Verstappen) potentially.”

Mercedes chose to let go of Valtteri Bottas for the 2022 season after five years and promoted their junior driver George Russell from Williams. Russell joined the Mercedes young driver program in 2017 and then went on to clinch the GP3 and F2 titles in consecutive seasons.

Incidentally, Russell beat fellow F1 drivers Lando Norris and Alexander Albon on his way to the F2 title in 2018 and graduated to F1 alongside the pair the following year.

While Russell has been stuck to the back of the grid with an uncompetitive Williams team, Lando Norris has led the McLaren team this season, often being a thorn in the sides of top teams.

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George Russell’s 2022 arrival has potential for fireworks at Mercedes

Since Nico Rosberg’s shock retirement at the end of the 2016 season, Mercedes have had a strong and harmonious driver line-up that helped the German team notch up five more constructors titles.

With the departure of Valtteri Bottas and the imminent arrival of George Russell, however, the team bosses at Brackley have reason to worry about potential conflict in future seasons.

Throughout his time with the team, Bottas failed to mount a serious championship challenge against seven-time world champion teammate Lewis Hamilton. The Finn has often loyally played the "team game" instead, helping Hamilton against Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari.

Meanwhile, George Russell is often touted to be one of the best among the “next generation of talent” and is expected to take the fight to Hamilton. While Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has generally been in favor of allowing Russell to fight against Hamilton, he has also been vocal about the need to maintain a “healthy relationship” within the team. Last month, Wolff even claimed the Russell may require “conditioning” to adapt to Mercedes’ requirements.