George Russell

[nudge]

No thread for George until now, time to correct that mistake... 

He's been just chosen to be one of the directors of the GDPA, replacing Grosjean now that the latter left F1  Must have a really good standing with other drivers to be chosen for the role despite his young age and experience! 

[Tommy]

At first you'd think he might be too young for that role. But when you think of it, he's a very mature and intelligent kid, so I think he's perfect for it. 

[Eco]

Holy hell....

 

[Tommy]

Red Bull already hinting that they'd go for him if Mercedes don't. Spicy. 

[Eco]

I got a feeling he's going to excel once he gets into a car that goes into 2nd gear. Kid has so much talent and constantly is outperforming his teammates. 

[RandoEFC+]

Beating Kubica and Latifi can't be deemed to be reflective of eliteness to be fair. But when he had the race in the Mercedes, he was only just outqualified by Bottas, who is a top 10 driver, and out-raced him at the first attempt. Says to me that a first year as Lewis' team-mate he'll probably perform slightly better than Valtteri has lately. The second year he can probably think about getting close to Lewis but no matter how good George has shown he is to date, he's never been Lewis Hamilton's team-mate, and we have no evidence that he'll reach that same level. If Lewis does pack it in after two more years (he might not), getting George in there now gives them a good timeframe for him to learn and be ready to take the lead from 2024.

[Eco]

3 minutes ago, RandoEFC said:

Beating Kubica and Latifi can't be deemed to be reflective of eliteness to be fair. But when he had the race in the Mercedes, he was only just outqualified by Bottas, who is a top 10 driver, and out-raced him at the first attempt. Says to me that a first year as Lewis' team-mate he'll probably perform slightly better than Valtteri has lately. The second year he can probably think about getting close to Lewis but no matter how good George has shown he is to date, he's never been Lewis Hamilton's team-mate, and we have no evidence that he'll reach that same level. If Lewis does pack it in after two more years (he might not), getting George in there now gives them a good timeframe for him to learn and be ready to take the lead from 2024.

Yeah - I was thinking that as well. He's has just been impressive in every situation he's been put in, so while he's likely never reach Lewis's level, he does appear to be a top tier driver despite him still slogging around in a Willams. 

[JoshBRFC+]

Russell to Mercedes all but confirmed. This man is a future world champion for sure and will present a much tougher challenge to Lewis in the same car.

[RandoEFC+]

Could see Russell and Verstappen eventually be the next big rivalry that goes on for multiple seasons post-Hamilton. Get ready. Norris, Leclerc, Sainz, Ocon, Gasly and others yet to come might have a thing or two to say about that though!

[Whiskey]

It's hard to imagine someone getting as many WC's as Hamilton, but I do feel that Russell can be a multiple WC. 

So excited for next season already, I love GR.

[Tommy]

44 minutes ago, Whiskey said:

It's hard to imagine someone getting as many WC's as Hamilton

Super Max is only 23, and this years title could be the first of many. 

[Whiskey]

21 minutes ago, Tommy said:

Super Max is only 23, and this years title could be the first of many. 

no no no no

[RandoEFC+]

Read an article last week that Hamilton was pretty unhappy that the team had opted for George over keeping Bottas. It was very much "sources close to the Hamilton camp" stuff so take it with a pinch of salt but it's entirely believable. He is quite generous these days with his praise of other drivers, especially the younger generation, but he's been lukewarm towards George Russell largely when he's probably the most impressive of the lot. In the past, Lewis would never have been phased by any team mate, and why would he after mostly outpacing Alonso when he was a rookie? I think his contrasting time alongside Rosberg and Bottas has changed his perspective a bit though along with age and experience. If it's true that he's concerned about having George as a team mate, it's probably a bigger compliment than any he could say out loud.

[Tommy]

2 minutes ago, RandoEFC said:

Read an article last week that Hamilton was pretty unhappy that the team had opted for George over keeping Bottas. It was very much "sources close to the Hamilton camp" stuff so take it with a pinch of salt but it's entirely believable. He is quite generous these days with his praise of other drivers, especially the younger generation, but he's been lukewarm towards George Russell largely when he's probably the most impressive of the lot. In the past, Lewis would never have been phased by any team mate, and why would he after mostly outpacing Alonso when he was a rookie? I think his contrasting time alongside Rosberg and Bottas has changed his perspective a bit though along with age and experience. If it's true that he's concerned about having George as a team mate, it's probably a bigger compliment than any he could say out loud.

When George replaced Lewis last year in Bahrain, he pretty much drove on his level straight away. Even though he was to tall for the car, and had little practice in it. That would sound scary to me if I was Lewis. 

[Whiskey]

Everyone knows how much I love Lewis Hamilton, but if the sources are true about him being unhappy with George then he can go and fuck himself. George deserves the seat and the sooner the "Valtierri, it's James" shite ends the better. I'm really hoping that they push each other all the way and to be honest, as an Englishman it's win/win for me. I'd like Lewis to do it to become the undisputed GOAT, but happy to cheer on Russell all the same. 

Must admit I'm in a good place as a fan, because I love the style, ability, personality etc of Max too. They only driver I dislike is Stroll and he's slow enough to be totally irrelevant.

[Eco]

1 hour ago, Whiskey said:

Everyone knows how much I love Lewis Hamilton, but if the sources are true about him being unhappy with George then he can go and fuck himself. George deserves the seat and the sooner the "Valtierri, it's James" shite ends the better. I'm really hoping that they push each other all the way and to be honest, as an Englishman it's win/win for me. I'd like Lewis to do it to become the undisputed GOAT, but happy to cheer on Russell all the same. 

Must admit I'm in a good place as a fan, because I love the style, ability, personality etc of Max too. They only driver I dislike is Stroll and he's slow enough to be totally irrelevant.

Well said, but why the dislike for Stroll? Another flag issue? 

The only driver I can say I dislike to Mazepin, and that's because he's a well known prick, and at best the 3rd best Russian driver, yet he has a seat while the other two don't. 

[Tommy]

This might comes as a bit of a shock. 

 

[JoshBRFC+]

George is a tremendous talent and it will be exciting to see him alongside Lewis. I’m sure he will learn a lot and take over eventually as the number 1 driver.

Anyone got any hard proof of the negativity towards Lewis? Links? Reputable sources?

Whilst you all continue to be cliquey and pray that these rumours are true  so it can fuel your hate and continue to like each other’s posts when any slight bit of negativity or fuck you’s are thrown his way…. I’ll post some factual positivity and respect, from the man himself.

 

 

[Eco]

2 hours ago, JoshBRFC said:

George is a tremendous talent and it will be exciting to see him alongside Lewis. I’m sure he will learn a lot and take over eventually as the number 1 driver.

Anyone got any hard proof of the negativity towards Lewis? Links? Reputable sources?

Whilst you all continue to be cliquey and pray that these rumours are true  so it can fuel your hate and continue to like each other’s posts when any slight bit of negativity or fuck you’s are thrown his way…. I’ll post some factual positivity and respect, from the man himself.

 

 

There has been a number of rumors about Lewis's feelings, and no one knows for sure but the man himself. However, I will say that if you look at it from Hamilton's point of view, why would he ever want a teammate other than Bottas? The Fin literally was the best teammate you could have as he didn't cause any drama and got screwed time and time again for Hamilton's benefit. Bottas and Hamilton have been together since 2017, and we definitely didn't see the competitive drama that existed when it was Hamilton and Rosberg. Of course Hamilton wouldn't want that to change...

I could see Hamilton not being 100% on board with this after 5 years of WC's and 5 years of Constructor championships, and now having to learn to work with a new driver who is NOT Bottas in terms of risks, talent, and likability. This move is certainly better for drama and the talent at Mercedes, but anyone who expects the World Champion to just be 100% on board with losing the nut-less wonder that is Bottas, is just a bit silly. 

[MUFC]

Imagine Bottas goes and wins every remaining race this season.

[Eco]

10 minutes ago, MUFC said:

Imagine Bottas goes and wins every remaining race this season.

Very possible if he goes to Indy Car. 

[nudge]

Just now, Eco said:

Very possible if he goes to Indy Car. 

That's insulting to IndyCar.

[Eco]

1 minute ago, nudge said:

That's insulting to IndyCar.

I was going to say eSports, but I think Lando would outperform him there also. 

soo...Karting? 

[nudge]

1 minute ago, Eco said:

I was going to say eSports, but I think Lando would outperform him there also. 

soo...Karting? 

Rally. He's good at that, like most Finns!

[RandoEFC+]

5 hours ago, JoshBRFC said:

George is a tremendous talent and it will be exciting to see him alongside Lewis. I’m sure he will learn a lot and take over eventually as the number 1 driver.

Anyone got any hard proof of the negativity towards Lewis? Links? Reputable sources?

Whilst you all continue to be cliquey and pray that these rumours are true  so it can fuel your hate and continue to like each other’s posts when any slight bit of negativity or fuck you’s are thrown his way…. I’ll post some factual positivity and respect, from the man himself.

 

 

I hope you're joking. The paranoia about Hamilton spite on this forum is going beyond parody. Half, if not more, members that post regularly in this part of the forum openly support Hamilton and about 2-3 people openly prefer other drivers, don't even dislike him.

If you're a fan of a particular driver then fair enough, crack on, but not everyone is. I, like most people who sometimes get accused of hating or bashing or having an agenda against Hamilton are fans of the sport. Sometimes that involves wanting to see someone else win a championship for variety or seeing whether having a stronger and hungrier team mate will ruffle the feathers of one of the greatest drivers in history. We're excited about George, not hating Hamilton. Seeing the next generation come through and claim their place at the top is exciting for the neutral.

As for the source, perhaps I should have posted initially but as I mainly use this forum on my phone I usually can't be arsed changing apps or tabs to back up my nonsense with evidence and trust people to take it in good faith. The link to the article is below, and be mindful that I initially acknowledged that there were no named sources or quotes and that it should be taken with a pinch of salt.

https://www.planetf1.com/news/lewis-hamilton-not-happy-george-russell/

I personally don't find it hard to believe when you look at the full context of Hamilton's career and the team mates he has, which I may elaborate on later if I have time.