Max Verstappen showers big praise on ‘potential’ world champion George Russell

Max Verstappen has heaped praise on Formula 1 rival George Russell, praising him for his abilities and calling him a potential world champion.

A Formula 3 runner-up, GP3 winner and Formula 2 champion, Russell made his F1 bow with Williams Racing in 2019. The Brit immediately made a strong impression, out-qualifying seasoned teammate Robert Kubica in all 21 races in his rookie season and putting Williams back on the podium in 2021.

George Russell moved to Mercedes last year and despite driving a car that struggled with multiple issues, most notably porpoising, he beat teammate and seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton in the final standings.

Reigning two-time F1 champion Verstappen is well aware of the Brit's potential. In an interview with Daily Mail, he said:

"George (Russell) is part of the generation with Lando and Charles and me that grew up together. I raced against George a bit in karting, though he’s a year younger. You could see straight away he was good. It came naturally to him — he didn’t need a lot of laps to be quick. He could jump straight in and battle at the front."

He added:

"He has the potential to be a world champion. I haven’t spent too much time with him, but he is a good lad. He has just moved to Monaco, so I may see more of him from now on."

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George Russell brushes aside talk of Mercedes copying Red Bull's sidepod concept

Mercedes had a reality check at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, with the team discovering their car was behind Red Bull Racing, Scuderia Ferrari and Aston Martin in race pace.

When the new regulations were introduced in 2022, Mercedes came up with a 'zero pod' design that has not been as successful as the team had hoped. Despite that, they stuck to it this year and the early signs are not positive.

With Aston Martin showing improvement after switching to Red Bull's side pod style, there has been some talk of other teams, especially Mercedes, doing the same.

George Russell, however, doesn't think that's a good idea as the car doesn't get its 'power' from the pods. He said (as quoted by racingnews365):

"Of course, we have always had different concepts on the drawing board but the reason we still have the current concept is because we believe it is the best concept."

He added:

"If we suddenly arrive next week with Red Bull-style sidepods, it won't just work for us and save half a second in time. The real magic comes from the underside of the car, at the floor and at other parts of the car."