George Russell sees Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari as a win-win situation for everyone – and firmly believes in rookie talent Andrea Kimi Antonelli
George Russell has described the driver change at Mercedes for the 2025 Formula 1 season as positive for all parties. Following Lewis Hamilton’s departure to Ferrari, young talent Andrea Kimi Antonelli took his place alongside him.
“Changes like this always have pros and cons,” Russell told the English-language edition of Motorsport.com. “I think the move was good for Lewis and also for us as a team – a fresh start that is sometimes necessary to get back on track.”
Hamilton had won six of his seven world titles in 13 years at Mercedes before moving to the traditional Italian team last winter. The 40-year-old was looking for a new challenge in the latter stages of his career. Mercedes instead opted for 18-year-old Antonelli, who was promoted directly from the junior program to the Formula 1 cockpit.
Russell new team leader after Hamilton’s departure
With Hamilton’s departure, Russell moved into the role of team leader. “Of course, it feels different in the team. But in the end, it’s only performance that counts. We started the season strongly, but then had a phase with weaker results,” said Russell.
Hamilton’s start at Ferrari has been bumpier than expected. A sprint victory in China has been the only major highlight so far as he has been getting used to his new environment and the car. Antonelli, for his part, has experienced highs and lows in his rookie season. A change to the rear suspension at Imola temporarily reduced his confidence in the car.
However, after returning to the older specification in Hungary, where Russell secured a podium finish, the Briton was confident that Antonelli would be back on the attack after the summer break.
Comparison with Antonelli: Why the numbers are misleading
Russell also emphasized that the decline in team performance was distorting the gap between him and Antonelli: “His gap to me is no different than before. In Canada, I was on pole, he was fourth in qualifying and six tenths slower. In Belgium, he was eliminated in Q1 and I made it to Q3, but the gap was three tenths. It looks worse from the outside because a tenth now means several grid positions,” explained the Brit.
Even though the development break caused by the faulty update was “not ideal,” Russell does not expect any negative effects on 2026. Most of the team is already working on the next project: “95 percent of the staff are already busy with 2026. This group is not on the usual emotional roller coaster that you normally have during a season.”
