George Russell’s F1 rivals must take note of how he’s ‘helping to raise’ the level at Mercedes

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George Russell is arguably the best driver currently on the grid who isn’t in contention for the 2025 F1 title, and his fellow rivals must start taking note of how he is raising the bar at Mercedes.

The British driver was recently handed a new multi-year deal with the Silver Arrows, which will see him lead the team through F1’s new regulations that come into effect next season.

Russell is keen to surpass the general opinion of him in the F1 paddock and has emerged as a driver who has consistently been in the mix for podiums throughout the current season.

At the most recent Grand Prix weekend in Mexico, Russell showed a different side to his persona as he angrily requested to swap positions with his teammate during a crucial period of his second stint.

Karun Chandhok felt like the ‘fiery’ exchange between Russell and his Mercedes race engineer was a sign that we are now seeing a different side to the Brit, a side that is focused on being the leading man on the F1 grid.

READ MORE: Karun Chandhok fears George Russell could lose Mercedes seat even if he wins 2026 F1 title

James Hinchcliffe thinks George Russell is taking Mercedes to the next level with his ‘spicy’ messages on team radio

James Hinchcliffe ‘couldn’t believe’ Mercedes asked Russell to conserve his tyres amid the battle for fifth place with championship contender Oscar Piastri during his role as a pundit on F1TV’s live coverage.

Speaking as a guest on the F1 Nation podcast following the conclusion of the Mexico City Grand Prix, the former IndyCar star explained his reasoning behind why the 27-year-old is actually pushing Mercedes forward through his demands over the team radio.

He said: “It seems to me that we sometimes get these kinds of spicy radio messages from George, but it’s always in a way that he’s trying to push the team forward, right?

“Max does it, too. Lewis has done it in the past, but there are drivers that get on the radio and complain, but when George is fired up about something, he’s usually got a really good point behind it. He’s very smart.

“We’ve seen him call strategy from behind the wheel. It’s a great team leader quality; he is working his tail off. He expects the people around him to be operating at that same level, and he’s helping to raise the whole team.”

Earning the status as the only driver out of the three championship hopefuls that has won a race this season, the leading Mercedes driver’s demands should be taken seriously by engineers at the Silver Arrows, as well as being replicated by his fellow rivals on the grid.

READ MORE: Toto Wolff just made a ‘crazy’ assessment about George Russell as Mercedes build F1 momentum

George Russell’s F1 rivals should take note of the way he is improving Mercedes

As alluded to by Hinchcliffe, there are far too many drivers who are too quick to make excuses over the team radio when things don’t go in their favour on track.

It’s a pattern that has emerged from Liam Lawson throughout his first full season as an F1 driver.

Whilst the rookie has had some glimpses of being highly talented, the excuses that he makes after making a mistake have become commonplace in his radio messages, which are sure to harm his chances of returning to the front-running Red Bull team in the future.

Red Bull chief Helmut Marko has criticised Lawson’s teammate Isack Hadjar for it in the past, declaring that showing too much emotion over the team radio shows a ‘lack of intelligence’ from a racing driver.

If F1 drivers want to make that next step in their career, like Russell is currently doing at Mercedes, they must show that they have the capacity to think about the bigger picture when issuing their verdicts in certain instances in the future.