"If he beats Lewis, his career is made" - Former F1 champion has high hopes from George Russell at Mercedes

George Russell beating Lewis Hamilton will be the highlight of his career, according to Jacques Villeneuve. The former F1 champion believes the junior British driver can outperform the seven-time world champion and could define his career by doing so.

Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Villeneuve said:

“He has the experience now and he’s had a few years of driving bad cars, difficult cars. So yes, he was okay with a difficult Mercedes that was bouncing, all that mattered to him was beating Lewis [Hamilton]. He knew from the start it wasn’t a championship-winning car, if he beats Lewis, his career is made. That’s all that he cares about. And also, both of them being British, he beats Lewis that’s it as his career has been made. So that was his only emphasis: what he needed to do to beat Lewis and that’s what he’s been doing.”

The Canadian believes Russell has the experience of driving an underpowered Williams and will be determined to beat Hamilton this year. Praising the junior Mercedes driver, Villeneuve believes beating the senior Briton in the same car will be a career-defining moment. The 1997 world champion believes the 24-year-old can beat the 37-year-old British champion and it is the only goal he needs to focus on.

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George Russell praises Lewis Hamilton for his technical expertise

George Russell said he felt privileged to work alongside Lewis Hamilton and learn teamwork from him. Praising the seven-time world champion’s technical understanding, Russell feels it is his side that is rarely understood or comprehended by his audience.

Praising Hamilton and his way of working with the team, the Mercedes driver said:

“I think obviously in a really privileged position being team mates with Lewis and learning so much from him – how he works, how he goes about his business with his engineers, how he gets sort of the whole team motivated – it’s quite inspiring to see. Also on the technical side, he’s pretty impressive, which a lot of people probably won’t recognise or appreciate.”

Although the 24-year-old leads the Briton in championship points, it won’t be surprising if the recent podium motivates Hamilton to grab his spot again in the top-5. The veteran Mercedes driver has never finished outside the top-5 in the drivers' championship in his F1 career and has not been outside the top-3 since 2014.