George Russell sent ‘honest’ verdict on Mercedes star’s F1 title hopes by Eddie Jordan

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Eddie Jordan scoffs at the idea of Mercedes star George Russell winning a Formula 1 drivers’ title anytime soon as Lewis Hamilton had ‘too much’ for the Briton last year.

The 25-year-old hardly had the best of times in 2023 as Russell went from fourth into eighth in the drivers’ championship. Hamilton, on the other hand, rose from sixth in 2022 to secure third place last season. A total of 59 points separated the Mercedes pairing in the standings.

Hamilton was the best non-Red Bull racer in 2023 as Max Verstappen blew the F1 field away on 575 points to Sergio Perez on 285. Fernando Alonso (206), Charles Leclerc (206), Lando Norris (205) and Carlos Sainz (200) also beat Russell (175) in his second Mercedes season.

Lewis Hamilton had ‘too much’ for George Russell at Mercedes

Russell only failed to score points at five Grand Prix last year and even finished all but three of the 22 rounds. He was still classified as finishing the Singapore GP, despite crashing out of third place on the final tour to hand the last step on the podium at Marina Bay to Hamilton.

The former Williams ace also scored points in all six of the Sprint events in 2023. But Russell only claimed two podiums all year to Hamilton’s six. The stewards also disqualified Hamilton from a P2 result for the United States GP due to excessive wear to the floor of his Mercedes.

Russell only stood on the podium with third-place results at the Spanish GP and the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP. He also finished the Dutch GP in 17th place after a late puncture while fighting Lando Norris for P7. Hamilton only failed to score points at the Qatar GP and US GP.

Eddie Jordan doubts George Russell will win an F1 title soon

Life at Mercedes was much brighter for Russell in 2022, despite the team taking the wrong path with a zero-pod philosophy. He enjoyed eight podiums from 22 Grand Prix, including a first race win. The Briton held Hamilton off to win the Sao Paulo GP in Brazil by 1.5 seconds.

So, given how Russell regressed from 2022 to 2023 and still only has one Grand Prix win in his account, former F1 team owner Jordan doubts the Mercedes star will win a drivers’ title anytime soon. His best hopes may not come before F1 embraces new regulations for 2026.

“Let’s be honest, George Russell has won one Grand Prix,” Jordan said on the Formula for Success podcast. “Do I think he can be a world champion next year or the year after? I just think that Lewis had too much on him.

“When Lewis didn’t quite have the car that he wanted at the beginning of the year, George was able to drive around that. Lewis didn’t bother because, not that he didn’t bother, but he just didn’t feel that the car was good enough to be able to do the job.

“But, nevertheless, as the season progressed, Lewis got his mojo together. And he made us all look up and say, ‘Hmm, maybe Lewis still has it’. And I think that because of the change in fortune, that’s why he went to Ferrari.”