George Russell is happy to race alongside his new Mercedes teammate, Kimi Antonelli, within the 2025 season. Talking on the workforce’s W16 launch, the Briton expressed his enthusiasm about mentoring the Italian rookie as he settles into System 1 and the Mercedes surroundings.
Antonelli, thought to be a generational expertise, was promoted to F1 rather than Lewis Hamilton for 2025 and past, swiftly progressing via Mercedes’ junior ranks from System Regional to F2. Whereas Russell now has three seasons beneath his belt with the Brackley-based squad, expectations are excessive for Antonelli.
Reflecting on the upcoming season, Russell highlighted the workforce’s renewed vitality within the post-Hamilton period.
Talking in a workforce assertion on the automotive launch, George Russell stated:
“It is also thrilling having a brand new team-mate in Kimi this 12 months. He is extremely fast and I feel we’ll make a fantastic partnership. Naturally, there’s a lot for him to study in his first season however I am wanting ahead to serving to him try this and dealing collectively to assist push the workforce ahead.”
He added:
“I really feel like final 12 months was my strongest in F1. This coming season shall be my seventh within the sport, and fourth with the works Mercedes workforce, and I am working onerous to enhance year-on-year. As a workforce, we’re extremely motivated to enhance on final season. There’s a nice vitality throughout the factories at Brackley and Brixworth so I am wanting to take to the monitor.”
George Russell reckons shakedown laps needs to be ok to find out Mercedes’ competitiveness
George Russell believes that the preliminary 5 laps within the Mercedes W16 will present a robust indication of whether or not the 2025 season shall be a aggressive one for the workforce. Talking on the automotive’s launch, the Brit defined that shakedown laps have traditionally been a dependable gauge of the automotive’s potential from the outset.
Reflecting on previous seasons, Russell famous that early suggestions from pre-season runs typically set the tone for the 12 months forward. Whereas the 27-year-old stays optimistic about Mercedes’ enhancements, he acknowledged that the true check will come as soon as the automotive hits the monitor. With secure rules and elevated competitors anticipated in 2025, Russell is keen to see how the W16 stacks up in opposition to its rivals.
Talking to pick onsite media together with Motorsport week on the F175 launch in London, George Russell stated:
“I feel inside 5 laps you understand in case you’re in for a superb season or not. And we’ve identified throughout the first 5 laps of the final couple of years that we wouldn’t be preventing for the championship. Or no less than we knew we wouldn’t be preventing originally of the season. So I really feel that, as I stated, it’s been far more sturdy this season, however the entire groups are so aggressive now. And everyone is aware of the constraints that they’ve had over these final three years.”
Mercedes has not been a title contender for the reason that introduction of ground-effect rules in 2022, struggling to search out constant performances in comparison with their dominant period from 2014 to 2021. In 2024, their buyer workforce McLaren outperformed them, securing the Constructors’ Championship whereas Mercedes completed a disappointing fourth.
With competitors anticipated to be even tighter in 2025, all eyes shall be on how the Silver Arrows try to reclaim their successful type. Past the technical challenges, the workforce faces a major transition with the departure of Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari and the combination of rookie Kimi Antonelli alongside George Russell. Managing the event of their W16 and mentoring a younger driver shall be key hurdles for Mercedes as they purpose to return to the entrance of the grid.
Edited by Neelabhra Roy
var fbPixelFired = false;
var pixelID = “952063904834769”;
document.addEventListener(“scroll”, loadFBPixel, { once: true, passive: true });
document.addEventListener(“mousemove”, loadFBPixel, { once: true, passive: true });
function loadFBPixel() {
if(fbPixelFired) {
return;
}
fbPixelFired = true;
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;
n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,
document,’script’,’
fbq(‘init’, pixelID);
fbq(‘track’, “PageView”);
fbq(‘track’, ‘ViewContent’);
document.removeEventListener(“scroll”, loadFBPixel);
document.removeEventListener(“mousemove”, loadFBPixel);
}
