Mercedes have George Russell 'question mark' issue as Lewis Hamilton exit looms

Exclusive: Former McLaren F1 driver Mark Blundell tells Mirror Sport he is not yet convinced George Russell is the leader Mercedes need in life after Lewis Hamilton

George Russell has undoubtedly learned much from his time alongside living legend Lewis Hamilton.

But with the seven-time Formula 1 champion headed to Ferrari, there are question marks over Russell's ability to lead Mercedes into the future. Former McLaren racer Mark Blundell worries the 26-year-old hasn't got the consistency required to lead a team's title charge.

Speaking to Mirror Sport, via Free Bets, he said: "George has learned a huge amount from Lewis, and I think you should have learned a huge amount of understanding how the Mercedes team functions.

"So the pressures will be slightly different when he has to step up and be the focal point and the driver that maybe everyone will sort of look to go like, 'Right, okay, what do we do next? Where are we heading with the car? Where are we heading with the infrastructure?'

"He will take on a slightly different set of pressures and I think that will be interesting to actually see whether those pressures make him or break him. I'm just not sure that we've quite seen the full capability of George Russell on track over the course of the season. I still don't think that has been delivered yet.

"And although he's had huge success with winning Grands Prix at this point, we haven't seen that consistency delivered at the level that I think is going to be required. That would be the question mark that will sit there."

Russell has won two F1 races to date - beating Hamilton to the first at the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix and doubling his tally in Austria this year. He thought he had a third at Spa-Francorchamps in July, until post-race checks found his car was underweight and he was disqualified.

Hamilton inherited that win and has scored 19 points more than his Mercedes team-mate so far this term. Russell has had the upper hand in qualifying but has failed to match his legendary team-mate's racecraft on a Sunday.

That is perhaps to be expected, but he will have no excuses for not outshining teenager Andrea Kimi Antonelli next term. Mercedes see the 18-year-old as their answer to Max Verstappen and hope he can achieve similar things to the Dutchman in the future.

Blundell thinks it was a bold move to put an unproven talent in one of the best seats on the grid, but believes it was prudent given Red Bull did the same with Verstappen, and McLaren with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. He added: "It is a huge leap of faith to be going into a big organization like Mercedes and being asked to deliver.

"In saying that, we have seen it with some of the youngsters that have come through in other Grand Prix teams. Lando and Piastri... these young talents that were put into a big team operation, so it's not out of the question. Max obviously, would be the key guy to make that a factual stat.

"I think it's an exciting time. It's just getting the blend right of experience and talent at that level to make sure that they don't cross each other's paths, and make life difficult for the team. I think as long as they have an understanding that one's going to lead and the other one's going to learn, then we should be good."

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