Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc have put pressure on Mercedes to sign George Russell.
Russell is a potential world champion of the future, and has a lot of hype around him. He has been linked with a big move to Mercedes next season. This would be to replace Valtteri Bottas, who is nearing the end of his contract.
Verstappen and Leclerc believe Russell is ready to make the switch to Mercedes. The Dutchman went first, and said that the British youngster can show a lot of pace in the right car.
“George is very quick, and he can’t stay where he is forever,” Verstappen said, as reported by the Race.
“I think he deserves more. It’s up to Mercedes to make the call, not really from my side! But for sure, I rate him very high as a driver.
“And he’s, of course, still very young as well, so it’s natural that the younger guys at one point move up. Especially the good drivers.”
Plus one
Leclerc went next, and agreed with Verstappen that Russell deserves a chance at a top team. He also said that learning from Lewis Hamilton would be a huge experience for him.
“So, he definitely deserves that spot and I think it would be great to have such a talented driver in that seat,” Leclerc said.
“Obviously, any driver wants to go against the best and Lewis is probably the greatest of all time. You want to put yourself against (the best) and see how you fare. It would be an honor for anybody to get the opportunity.
“That’s obviously all hypothetical at the moment. It’s the same comments as I’ve said three years ago. If I could choose anybody to race as my teammate, Lewis would be the one,” Leclerc concluded.
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