Eddie Jordan asserted that once Lewis Hamilton departs for Ferrari in 2025, George Russell leading Mercedes’ future might not be sufficient to appease supporters.
Eddie Jordan may have his doubts, but Toto Wolff has expressed his belief that George Russell will emerge as Mercedes’ top driver.
After Lewis Hamilton departs for Ferrari the next season, ex-F1 team owner Jordan has stated that Russell might not be the best candidate to head Mercedes in the upcoming seasons. Russell is scheduled to take over as Mercedes’ primary driver in 2025, after Hamilton declared he would be switching.
Jordan said, “Let’s be honest, George Russell has won one grand prix,” on the Formula for Success podcast. Will he be a World Champion the following year or the year after, in my opinion?
Simply put, Lewis seemed to have too much going on. George managed to get by when Lewis wasn’t quite able to get the car he desired at the start of the year. Not because Lewis didn’t care, but rather because he didn’t think the car was good enough to get the job done.
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“Nevertheless, Lewis managed to get his act together as the season went on. And he caused us all to glance up, thinking, “Perhaps Lewis still has it.” And I believe that he turned to Ferrari as a result of his financial situation changing.”
Speaking right after Hamilton’s Ferrari announcement, Wolff expressed his confidence in Russell’s future potential and ability to lead the squad to further success.
“With all the talk about Lewis, George hasn’t gotten enough attention,” Wolff remarked. George might take over as the team’s top driver in the future. He belongs to the same generation as Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, and a few others.
“There’s little doubt that when Lewis retires, I couldn’t hope for a different team captain. We just need to make the best decision for the second driver and seat because we have such a strong base and a swift, skilled, and bright guy in the car.”
Wolff said that he doesn’t feel compelled to sign Russell’s new teammate right away, speculating that “perhaps it’s an opportunity to take a risk.”
After finishing first in the Belgian Grand Prix, ahead of teammate Hamilton, Russell appeared to have secured his third race victory of the year on Sunday. But after the required fuel emptying, a post-race inspection revealed that the Mercedes vehicle weighed 1.5 kg less than permitted.
Russell’s disqualification from the race classification was confirmed by the FIA stewards an hour after the race, after the subject was brought to them. Instead, Hamilton won his 105th Formula One race, with Oscar Piastri of McLaren coming in second and Charles Leclerc of Ferrari completing the podium in third.
