George Russell seeks inspiration from this former Mercedes driver for success in his career

George Russell recently spoke about a former Mercedes F1 driver's journey through the sport that inspires him. It is safe to say that Russell has the potential to win a future world championship with Mercedes. While he has stated that Lewis Hamilton, his teammate and seven-time world champion, has been his source of inspiration, in this particular instance, he picked another Silver Arrows driver from the past.

Speaking to Autoweek, George Russell stated how it took Michael Schumacher five years to achieve success with Ferrari in the early days. He explained that Schumacher's Ferrari legacy is the only thing that is in the spotlight, but no one talks about the several years prior to that when he was creating a winning team around him.

George Russell also spoke about Max Verstappen and how he spent four years at Red Bull without a championship. He said:

“Max spent four years at Red Bull before he got his chance of truly fighting for a championship. And the same with Schumacher; when he went to Ferrari, it was four years before he won a championship. Whereas we all look at him as the guy who was at Ferrari, dominant, and won everything, you know, it took four or five years before he got that success there.”

The comments came in response to questions about his future and how long could it take for the Briton to fight for a championship. Russell is clearly determined to clinch his first world title with Mercedes, but he is well aware that it can take several years before that is possible.

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George Russell on his contract extension with Mercedes till 2025

George Russell was delighted to renew his contract with Mercedes. He, along with Lewis Hamilton, will stay in the team for another two years before taking the next step for their careers. Since Russell has always been part of the Mercedes racing family, it was only obvious that he was going to stay with the team for quite some time.

"Really excited to be staying with the team," Russell said in the official announcement video by Mercedes. "It's been really special for me because I've been a part of this team since 2016, joined officially in 2017, and just come such a long way and had so much from everybody, obviously Toto at the helm. Just really excited for the years to come."

George Russell is currently seventh in the drivers' championship with 109 points, while Lewis Hamilton is fourth with 164 points.