I read an article regarding a podcast in which former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer said he would have picked Lando Norris over George Russell if he were at the helm of Mercedes for 2022.
II understand the sentiment as Lando had a terrific year besting a seasoned teammate in the form of Daniel Ricciardo. Much was made back int eh day when Ricciardo bested Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull so being bested by Lando speaks volumes but would that have been the right choice?
If I were at the helm of Mercedes, I would have made the same choice. I would have replaced Valtteri with George. In fact, I probably would have done that last year to be honest and said as much on our podcast.
George is a Mercedes driver and on the payroll so to speak, Lando is not and thus, getting Lando out of his McLaren deal would have been expensive to do. Like you, I’ve watched both drivers mature at their respective teams and I’ve seen them both overachieve in a car that hasn’t been that interested in doing what they ask of it.
I’ve also seen them both mature and develop their race craft. Sure, they’ve both made mistakes and taken chances that ended in crushed carbon fiber but I’ve also seen them perform extraordinarily well under immense pressure.
On the balance it it, I think George is the right choice because we have a marker in which to judge by. With George filling in for Lewis last year and, effectively, winning that race had it not been for some issues that were team derived in what I can only say was very odd for a team that good, he showed that he had the measure of Valtteri Bottas and was doing a terrific job in the champ’s car no less.
I am a fan of both drivers and I do think Lando has made a huge step in his evolution as a top-flight F1 driver this year. There is certainly enough to warrant even considering him over Gorge for the post at Merc but in the end, I don’t think we have much in George to be reticent about either.
What do you think? Is George the right choice or would you have chosen Lando?
Seems you’re not much of an F1 fan if you can’t get Joylon Palmer’s name right.
Yeah, that’s an auto-correct typo that I missed. Although I like the idea of me not being much of an F1 fan and having 800 podcasts and a website dedicated to it. There would be many who agree with you and wonder what I could possibly have been talking about for 800 episodes. ;)
Just an FYI…you got his name wrong too. ;)
Bwahaha
Slambo Rama!
I’ve mentioned it before, I can see Lando going to Merc to replace Lewis once he retires.
It will all be about the contract, whether he has the same car and the rules about beating his teammate. I suspect that being labelled and treated as a number 2 from the get go has blunted the competitiveness of previous incumbents. Some would say he needs an apprenticeship but why? Look at cycling grand tours, the new guys come in and just do it. There is too much competition to sit back and wait for a number one to give you a grace and favour win.
I agree and if you go back to 2007 and look at how Lewis came into the sport, he had no interest in being a Fernando understudy. He went right after the title and nearly got it. I think that’s how George has to approach this too.
May I add that the “champ’s car” was not set up for him, was too short for his legs and there was discussion whether he could even drive the car he was so cramped?
I had forgotten about that. That’s right, he was rubbing his foot raw on one of the pedals if memory serves.
From the first day I saw George on track, I had the same impression as Max: Future World Champion. For all the media darling that Lando is, and though he certainly can drive, I just don’t see him as that next level driver such as Lewis, Max, Vettel, and so on. I think he lack that last bit of push to go for the jugular when needed. ~X8