George Russell’s ‘bold’ prediction that 97-race driver will score his first 2024 podium at Monza

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There are only nine race weekends left in Formula 1 this season but there are still so many story lines to study over the final few months of the campaign.

Lando Norris’s victory at the Dutch Grand Prix has given the Brit an outside chance of winning the Drivers’ Championship.

The gap to Max Verstappen is still 70 points although McLaren will feel they have a very good chance of winning the Constructors’ Championship.

What’s been so exciting about the 2024 F1 season is the number of different drivers who have managed to win races.

Carlos Sainz was the only person who interrupted Red Bull’s dominance last year, but both Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren drivers have stood on the top step of the podium this season.

The only man who hasn’t won a race out of the top four teams is Sergio Perez, but Eddie Jordan has shared how Perez could potentially win at Monza.

Before the season started on Sky Sports F1, George Russell was asked to make some predictions for the upcoming campaign.

READ MORE: Mercedes driver George Russell’s life outside F1 from net worth to height

He was standing alongside Lando Norris and Alex Albon who all joined F1 at the same time as rookies.

They’ve had very different paths up to this point, but Russell suggested that Albon – who has 97 Grand Prix entries to his name – could end up on the podium at the Italian Grand Prix.

Unfortunately, the Williams is much less competitive than many would have expected before the season started.

It would be a huge shock if all three of Russell’s predictions came true as his first two predictions have already happened.

George Russell predicted Alex Albon to finish on the podium at Monza

At the beginning of the season, Russell was asked for his hot takes and said: “Bold predictions, I’m going to say Red Bull won’t win every race.

“I reckon a Mercedes and a McLaren will win a race this year and I’m going to say a Williams on the podium.”

Albon then asked: “What race?” to which Russell replied: “I’ll go Monza! Predictable!”

Williams head to the Italian Grand Prix at Monza with a new driver line-up

If the pressure wasn’t on Albon before the summer break to score some points for the team, it definitely is now.

Logan Sargeant had a disastrous weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix and was dropped as a result.

READ MORE: Williams driver Alex Albon’s life outside F1 from net worth, girlfriend to parents

James Vowles has called up academy driver Franco Colapinto to replace him until the end of the season before Carlos Sainz arrives in 2025.

Colapinto has been brought in as it’s now believed that he’ll do a better job than Sargeant and potentially save the team some time and money by crashing less often.

However, it means that Albon is going to be expected to step up as the team’s number-one driver and try and score more points with a newly upgraded car.

He showed the car’s potential at Zandvoort with a Q3 appearance and the reason for his disqualification has now been resolved.