George Russell gives his honest verdict on working with young teenager Kimi Antonelli

George Russell feels Kimi Antonelli's feedback would be just as valuable as his as Mercedes gets ready to begin life without Lewis Hamilton. Since 2013, the German squad had the 7x world champion as a spearhead who acted as a leader and would be the one the team looked at for direction.

With Hamilton now out of the team and beginning his journey as a Ferrari driver, Mercedes would have a driver lineup featuring George Russell and Kimi Antonelli. In the last three seasons, Russell has been the understudy of Lewis even though the competition on track has been intense.

When the George Russell-Lewis Hamilton partnership ended, the duo were still very close to each other. While Russell outscored Hamilton in two of the three seasons, it was the veteran who had more points overall. With the veteran leaving, he has been replaced by Kimi Antonelli, a teenage sensation who has impressed Mercedes throughout his junior career.

In a Q&A published on Mercedes' official website, George Russell said that while Kimi Antonelli didn't have the experience yet, he's a fabulous driver, and his opinion on car development and feedback would be just as valid.

He said via PlanetF1:

“He is such a fantastic driver. He does not have the experience yet, but I am sure he will be up to speed very quickly. He has already integrated so well. We have both been racing from a young age and we know what needs to be fed back to the team. He is young, but his opinion will be just as valid.”

Cognizant of his role as a leader of the team now, Russell said:

“I recognise my role as the more experienced driver. There are a lot of great young drivers coming onto the grid, and it makes you realize you are no longer the youngster. I am entering a new chapter in my career. I am ending my beginning and entering the mid stage."

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George Russell looking to emulate Lewis Hamilton's career trajectory

George Russell did identify that he was now in the second phase of his career, where he was not a youngster anymore. He was someone who the team would be looking at when it came to leading the squad.

Comparing his career trajectory to Lewis Hamilton, the Brit pointed out that the 7x world champion had also joined Mercedes when he was 29 and then achieved success.

Talking about trying to fulfill the leadership role, Russell said:

“Lewis was 29 when he joined Mercedes and started winning all those championships, and Michael [Schumacher] was early 30s at Ferrari. Nowadays everyone starts younger and younger – my debut came at 20. But I feel ready now to fulfil roles at the team, but the most important part of that is driving as quickly as possible, and I feel in a good place to do that."

He added:

“I’ll continue to want to learn and be open and take nothing for granted. You either have the speed or you don’t, but there is no doubt these guys coming in are going to be competitive.”

George Russell would be teamed up with Kimi Antonelli for the 2025 F1 season. While Mercedes was the fourth fastest car last season, there's certainly a glimmer of hope that the team could do something this season and turn things around, something that would be the target this year for sure.