Lewis Hamilton has not held back recently (Image: Sky Sports F1)
Lewis Hamilton thinks and would work together effectively if they became team-mates. The 39-year-old seven-time world champion will depart the Brackley squad at
The speculation over who will step into Hamilton’s shoes has been rife, with team boss keeping his cards close to his chest. There have been many rumours that , while Andrea Kimi Antonelli could also be promoted from junior driver to Russell’s partner.
Russell, 26, has recently , prompting that he does not have the gravitas and leverage to do so in the same way that Hamilton does. Nevertheless, Russell’s current team-mate still believes the King’s Lynn native is still the future of .
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In a recent interview, Hamilton said: “Well, obviously George is an integral part of this team and he’s going to be here for the long haul. He’s doing such a great job, and he’s going to grow into the leader of the team.
“So it would be interesting to see. I don’t know what their relationship [Verstappen and Russell] is like, but I’m sure they’d work it out. It would definitely be a strong line-up, of course, similar to what we have in my next team [Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at ].”
Russell recently blasted his car shortly after the Brazilian GP. In Sao Paulo, he said: “The problem we’ve got with this car at the moment is you think it’s not going to bite you, and you can achieve a really great lap.
“Then, suddenly nothing changes, or you feel nothing changes, and the following lap you lose all of that performance. Without a doubt this is probably the most inconsistent our performance has been as a team in probably forever.”
Hamilton thinks Russell is the future of Mercedes (Image: Getty Images)
Russell currently edges out Hamilton by two points, with the latter enduring one of his most trying seasons. Since the summer break, have faltered, transitioning from winning three out of four races to scraping just one podium in seven outings.
‘ slump has stirred speculation over Wolff’s next move to compete with powerhouses like , and . Rosberg recently hinted at Wolff’s relentless pursuit of excellence and potential team shake-ups.
When asked about Russell, Rosberg said: ” is not safe at all because Toto still wants Max and he will try again for 2026. ‘Give up’ does not appear in Toto’s vocabulary.
“So if Max does become available and I do think it’s a possibility, then it is a shootout between George and Kimi next year. And it’s a lot of pressure on George because he has everything to lose. He should be the one ahead because Kimi is 18 and completely new. It’s not an easy situation for George.”