Despite numerous setbacks for George Russell, Juan Pablo Montoya is absolutely convinced that the Mercedes driver will ultimately benefit from this experience
Although George Russell has had to contend with numerous setbacks in the battle for the Formula 1 World Championship, according to Juan Pablo Montoya, the Mercedes driver will ultimately benefit from precisely these challenges. That is the former Grand Prix driver’s take on the post-race show on F1 TV.
“I personally believe that this [low point] is actually a good thing for him,” Montoya explained after the Belgian Grand Prix. While Kimi Antonelli won the race on the Ardennes roller coaster, George Russell retired as early as the first lap. The gap between championship leader Antonelli and his teammate now stands at 50 points.
However, from Montoya’s perspective, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the more experienced of the two Mercedes drivers will benefit from it this season, “but in the long run, [he will].”
“He now realizes that things have to improve,” said the seven-time Grand Prix winner. “At the start of the season, he thought he was undoubtedly among the best here and would win the title. You could say that the process he’s currently going through is really unpleasant for him.”
In addition to the problems at Spa, Russell has struggled in recent months with more than just the reliability of his Mercedes. The speed of his younger teammate is also giving the former top favorite for the world championship a hard time.
“But,” says Montoya, “he’s already in a better position. He wants to rebuild himself and knows there are things he can do better. When you go through something like this, you end up being a better driver and a much more mature person.”
Furthermore, the two-time Indy 500 champion emphasizes: “Mercedes is really good at helping its drivers, managing them, and taking care of them. You never hear the team putting the blame on the drivers. Other teams love to do exactly that.“
”That’s why I believe,“ the expert says, ”that George is a really good fit for Mercedes. After all, he’s a team player who’s all about building up the team and getting better.”
