George Russell: Verstappen's career would be 'damaged' if he went to Mercedes

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George Russell came to F1 early but had to have a lot of patience to fight for a place in the Mercedes team. He spent three years at Williams, where he gained enormous experience that was important for his future. In an interview with the media, Russell talked about his career as well as the fact that some things could be different.

He made a comparison between himself and Max Verstappen, who had a "more open path" to stardom. At the start, Russell reacted to the reporter's questions: Does he think he gained an advantage by being in a "weaker" team for a couple of seasons? “I think that’s something you would never know,” Russell said for Square Mile, as quoted by planetf1.com “It’s something I tell myself because I like to be glass half full and I want to take the positive out of every situation.

But I could sit here and say I lost three years of my career because I was in a car that was right at the back of a grid and I couldn’t fight for wins. Or you can see all the positives from my time there. I look at those years now thinking, “Yeah, perhaps I did learn more racing at the back compared to what some of my rivals may have done being thrown in the deep end from the beginning."

George Russell and Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen had a completely different path than Russell.

George wonders if the Dutchman's career would have been different if he had started at Mercedes and had Hamilton as a teammate. “Some drivers have been thrown in at the deep end early and it’s hurt their careers.

For example, Max Verstappen obviously got his promotion after 18 months, but perhaps if he went into a team like Mercedes against Lewis Hamilton at the peak of his powers, it could have damaged his career. So you’ve got to look at it from both sides, and for sure Max was a greater driver after three or four years under his belt compared to where he was after 18 months under his belt.

If you’re going up against a guy who’s absolutely in his prime and dominating in the car that he’s so used to, maybe he wouldn’t be in the position he is today”.