George Russell is now Mercedes’ lead driver after Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari, and feels the Silver Arrows also have a ‘key’ weapon to learn the Scuderia’s secrets.
The 26-year-old is preparing for his fourth Formula 1 campaign in Brackley in 2025. But after three years beside Hamilton at Mercedes, Russell will now have to shape their bid alongside Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The 18-year-old will achieve his F1 debut in the Australian Grand Prix.
It is new ground for Russell to be the No1 driver at Mercedes, although he led Williams over the Briton’s first three years on the grid. While over in Italy, his compatriot faces a fight with Charles Leclerc and has hit a bump with Hamilton crashing in Ferrari’s private Barcelona test.
George Russell thinks Valtteri Bottas’ return to Mercedes could be ‘key’ to beat Ferrari
A familiar face has returned to Mercedes this term to support Russell and Antonelli, however, as Valtteri Bottas is back in Brackley as a reserve driver. The Finn accepted the Silver Arrows’ offer of a back-up gig after Sauber fired Bottas and Zhou Guanyu to sign Gabriel Bortoleto.
His departure from a race seat into a reserve role means Bottas will now cover the man who took his drive at Mercedes in Russell. But the Briton is excited to have the 35-year-old at the team as Bottas’ experience will be ‘massive’ for Mercedes after taking 246 Grand Prix starts.
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Russell also thinks Bottas, a 10-time Grand Prix winner and 20-time pole scorer, can be ‘key’ for Mercedes given his experience of the Ferrari power unit from three years at Sauber. The Finn can now pass on all of his knowledge about the Scuderia’s engine to the Silver Arrows.
“His experience is going to be massive,” Russell said, via RACER. “Having someone with so much simulator and racing knowledge, and who fully knows the team is going to be great.
“Hearing about his last few years at Sauber with the Ferrari engine could be key, too. You always have to keep an open mind as to what others are doing and he has all of that under his belt.”
Valtteri Bottas can help Mercedes fight Ferrari in the 2025 F1 constructors’ championship
The 2025 season may be the final campaign before F1’s 2026 engine and chassis regulation changes, but Russell is right to suggest that Bottas’ knowledge of Ferrari’s power unit might be ‘key’ for Mercedes. Bottas’ 12 seasons on the grid should also help Antonelli adapt to F1.
While Bottas cannot let Mercedes know where Ferrari are at with the development of their 2026 engine given Sauber will become a works Audi team in 2026 with a factory power unit, his knowledge of the Scuderia’s existing engine should prove helpful for the 2025 campaign.
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Mercedes will hope to rival Ferrari for race wins and possibly the constructors’ title in 2025. The Brackley bunch proved they are in a position to fight at the front of the field again with Hamilton’s record ninth British GP win, plus in Spa, and Russell’s Las Vegas GP win last year.
But Ferrari were a far more consistent threat and only missed out on the teams’ title by 14 points to McLaren at the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP. Mercedes, meanwhile, only scored 468 points through the record-breaking 24 rounds to Ferrari’s 652 to come home in fourth.
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