Felipe Massa backs George Russell to emerge as main Mercedes title threat over Lewis Hamilton

Felipe Massa has said that, while Lewis Hamilton can never be written off in fighting for a title, Mercedes team-mate George Russell has potential to carry the team’s hopes in future.

Russell moved to Mercedes to partner Hamilton for the first time last season and beat him in the Drivers’ Championship standings, taking his first career pole position and race victory in the process in Hungary and Sao Paulo respectively.

While Hamilton and Mercedes had hoped to respond with a better car in 2023 following the troublesome characteristics of the W13, the early indications with the W14 are that they are just as far away from race-winning contention as they were at the beginning of last season, with Red Bull clearly in the ascendancy.

While significant changes go on back at base for Mercedes, Russell beat Hamilton on track in Saudi Arabia last time out after the seven-time World Champion edged clear of his team-mate in Bahrain, setting up another tight battle between the two British drivers this season.

Massa, Hamilton’s title rival in 2008, labelled him one of the three greatest drivers in the history of the sport, but his lack of a race-winning car is proving problematic – and Russell may be better placed to fight for future titles.

“你永远不应该犯的错误写Lewis off. Alongside Michael [Schumacher] and Ayrton Senna, he is the best driver who has ever raced in Formula 1,” Massa reasoned to《图片报》.

“In addition to his experience, he has a very good feel for driving. Lewis can become World Champion again – but for that he needs a competitive car. He doesn’t have that at the moment.

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“Charles [Leclerc], like Max and Lewis, is an exceptional driver. He is currently the biggest title challenger for Red Bull.

“Their second driver, Sergio Pérez, is too inconsistent. Just like Carlos Sainz from Ferrari. George Russell could become a title contender in the coming years.”

When asked if Russell is able to challenge at Mercedes over Hamilton, Massa explained his achievement was a rare one within Mercedes, with only Jenson Button having outscored him at McLaren in the past and one famous example of him having been beaten across a season at the Silver Arrows.

“I trust him to do that,” Massa explained of Russell’s title-challenging credentials. “Don’t forget: last year, in his first season at Mercedes, he left Lewis behind in the World Championship. An incredible achievement.

“Before that, only Nico Rosberg in 2016 had achieved this in Lewis’ entire career. George is a top driver.”