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George Russell shared a tribute for teammate Lewis Hamilton after the latter's announcement to leave Mercedes and join Ferrari in the 2025 F1 season.
Lewis Hamilton would be parting ways with Mercedes after eleven years of racing in 2025 and join Ferrari, replacing Carlos Sainz in the team. After almost a day of the announcement, his current teammate George Russell paid him a tribute on social media. He wrote:
"It’s been special racing alongside you, @lewishamilton. Let’s make this season one to remember."
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The two have been racing together since 2022 when Russell joined Mercedes to replace Valtteri Bottas. In these two years, while Mercedes have struggled quite a bit with their pace, Russell was able to bring himself to victory in Brazil in 2022. This is also the only race that the team have won in the new aerodynamic era, with Lewis Hamilton without a victory.
This has been speculated to be one of the major reasons why Hamilton has decided to part ways with the team. Ferrari showed better signs of development in the 2023 season and although Mercedes were runners-up in the championship, they only had a three-point gap from the Italian team.
The announcement came ahead of the 2024 F1 season, which will be Lewis Hamilton's final season with the Brackley-based team and racing alongside George Russell.
George Russell could benefit from Mercedes after Lewis Hamilton's departure
Russell's driving skills are immense behind the wheel and he has showcased that well. He has been their only race winner in the past two seasons and also managed to beat Hamilton during the 2023 season.
Despite this, Lewis Hamilton's presence in the team might have acted as a barrier if they had a car that was competitive enough to win a World Championship. Hamilton has been chasing his record-breaking eighth title for a long time now, but Russell is seemingly competitive enough as well.
With the Briton no more in the team, George Russell could get his moment. There have been no hints yet about who will replace Lewis Hamilton in the team, but the likelihood of a younger driver joining is high given the trend that Mercedes have followed with Russell.
This will give Russell the chance to compete more freely.
