After three years fighting to survive in Formula 1 with Williams, Mercedes decided ahead of the 2022 season that George Russell was finally ready to replace Valtteri Bottas and partner Lewis Hamilton.
While the Brit had been impressive through the junior series, winning the 2018 Formula 2 championship, nobody could have expected Russell’s debut year with Mercedes to go as well as it did.
As the Silver Arrows struggled to get to grips with the major regulation changes that came into effect at the start of the year, Russell somehow still managed to be almost an ever-present in the top five.
The 24-year-old also picked up Mercedes only race win of the year in Brazil, winning the sprint race and Grand Prix to round off a strong start to life with Mercedes.
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All of this led to the young Brit beating his veteran teammate Lewis Hamilton in the drivers’ championship, putting the 38-year-old’s title hopes for the future in doubt.
Hamilton has been an inspiration to people all over the world, with his desire to make the world a better place despite his Formula 1 commitments showing that they are many different approaches to success in sport.
Russell has now explained that his teammate’s unique approach to channelling his energy is what makes him so inspiring, as he remains one of the greatest drivers of all time alongside managing so many helpful projects.
“Lewis is an incredibly unique character,” he told The High Performance Podcast.
“I think he’s incredibly inspiring with all of his activities and projects he has off-circuit.
“When you look at drivers from the past who are just pure racing drivers, [who think] ‘I’m going to wake up living and breathing this sport’, he does things so differently to so many other people, yet has still had so much success along the way.”
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Alongside his Formula 1 success, Lewis Hamilton runs the Mission 44 foundation, which aims to help those born into discrimination or disadvantage be given the same opportunities as everybody else.
It has been reported that Hamilton donated £20m to his foundation in 2022 alone, making him one of the most charitable athletes in the world.
The Brit has revealed that he dreams of retiring as a F1 world champion, but after Russell proved his potential in 2022, Hamilton will have to get the better of his teammate before he can even think about dethroning Max Verstappen and Red Bull.