Mercedes’ George Russell took another podium with a third-place finish at the Chinese GP. Team boss Toto Wolff was quick to praise the Briton’s performance given the difficult circumstances. Wolff said people have forgotten how good Russell is since he was paired with the legendary Lewis Hamilton, and now the rising star Kimi Antonelli.
A 10 out of 10 performance
Wolff never gave a 10 out of 10 rating because he strives for improvements for his drivers from each race. But this time? It’s an exception. Russell brilliantly took third behind the pace-setting McLarens. It was even more impressive considering the strategy dilemma caused by the tyre degradation said the Austrian in his print media session.
“I never give 10 out of 10, because I think there is always better. We haven’t seen the perfect race. But considering the circumstances that George had today, it is a 10 out of 10, because he extracted the maximum [out] of this car, the tyres, the strategy.
“It was a brilliant drive, and you’re absolutely right, all these discussions are wrong.”
Wolff said it is easy to overlook Russell’s achievements since he was teammates with Hamilton and now Antonelli. He think he is among the best drivers out there, and the 26-year-old could become the benchmark driver in the sport.
“Lewis, because he’s the biggest, biggest person in the sport, leading to Ferrari, obviously great story. Kimi coming in as the youngest driver in the high potential, then little was said about George. But I always said that that’s not right, because he’s one of the top drivers out there.”
“If you want me to name three that I consider to be the top, he’s absolutely among those three, if not, the top two. And maybe on his way to the top one, philosophically.”
Russell’s future with the Silver Arrows
Given Russell’s hot run of form, Wolff was asked about his thoughts if Russell decided to part ways. The 53-year-old prefers concentrating on the present and joking that he does not want to make Russell a “plant”. His current contract expires at the end of 2025.
“George is a Mercedes driver. So we love having him in the team. He’s a junior driver and a Mercedes-grown product, talent. We don’t want to make him a plant. And that’s something to be proud of, and this is where all my concentration goes to.”
