George Russell went into his sixth season as a Formula 1 driver knowing that his team mate’s impending departure was an opportunity for him to assert himself as Mercedes’ new team leader. He rose to the challenge superbly, often getting the most out of his W15 when the team was able to coax its fickle creation into co-operating.
He had to be patient over the opening races as the car was not a race-winning proposition to begin with. Nonetheless he started the year third on the grid, from where he finished a decent fifth. That was as good as it got for half a dozen rounds, during which he picked up a few lower-order points finishes and suffered a heavy crash at Melbourne following some questionable driving by Fernando Alonso ahead of him.In Monaco, Russell was the first to get his hands on Mercedes’ new front wing and delivered, beating Max Verstappen to fifth place. This was the beginning of better times for Mercedes.
Russell beat Verstappen to pole position on a tie-breaker at the next round, and arguably missed his chance to win the following day, though he salvaged third by passing his team mate. He led after lap one in Spain following a meteoric start, though he faded to fourth. Finally in Austria Russell claimed the second victory of his career, capitalising on a late collision between Verstappen and Lando Norris.
George Russell
Best | Worst | |
---|---|---|
GP start | 1 (x4) | 20 |
GP finish | 1 (x2) | 17 |
Points | 245 |
He claimed pole position again for his home race but was cruelly struck down by a rare technical fault in a race ultimately won by his team mate. But that was nothing compared to the heartbreak of Spa, where Russell’s strategic savvy produced a hard-earned win, only for him to lose it to a technical infringement.
Mercedes could not get their W15 to function as well over much of the remaining season. Russell mustered a pair of good recovery runs in Hungary (11 places to eighth) and USA (14 places to sixth), the latter after a rare crash in qualifying. He returned to the podium in Azerbaijan, again thanks to a late collision between two other drivers, plus a pass on Verstappen.
Brazil produced another ‘what might have been’ moment. Russell led convincingly early in the wet race, but Mercedes couldn’t resist the opportunity to pit him during a Virtual Safety Car period, and he fell behind three drivers who never had the chance to do the same. He finally made up for his many missed wins with a controlled drive to victory in Las Vegas. Arguably he could have taken four more, and poor luck cost him more than anything else.
Russell’s comfortable margin over his elite team mate in qualifying underlined how impressive his 2024 campaign was. Mercedes spent the year agonising over who his next team mate should be, and no doubt the quality of Russell’s performances is part of the reason they felt able to take a punt on the young Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
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SteveP
30th January 2025, 7:49
He was in an underweight car, in a racing series where the teams minimise the amount of paint to save weight and gain an advantage.
He was effectively using fuel as ballast and probably burnt off more than the strategy calculations suggested when running with his foot through the floor, keeping ahead of his teammate.
Having taken the life out of his tyres too soon – a regular failing he has. Unless Mercedes can provide him a car which easy on tyre wear, he is rarely going to feature in front of others with similar performance cars.
Gracie19
30th January 2025, 8:56
I have heard that the problem was not the car but the driver. He was under his expected weight. Yes, still underweight by the weight of a full meal and will have an advantage, but not a lot. His gain over Hamilton in qualifying was nearly always biggest in the final sector because he kept the tyres in good condition where Hamilton scrubbed his too much. Tyre wear is probably a feature of that car.
GechiChan (@gechichan)
30th January 2025, 8:58
The Spa circuit is too long for a full lap after the race ends, and they get back into the pits after the 1st corner. This is a disadvantage over other tracks, as drivers can’t benefit from the marbles pickup. But still, all others managed to comply with the rules, so it was just a miscalculation and a bit unfortunate for George.
Alberto
30th January 2025, 9:17
No one else got penalised for being underweight. This is not an excuse. They gambled on strategy and the entire conversation was broadcasted as it happened.
DonSmee (@david-beau)
1st February 2025, 0:54
Yup veeerystrong revisionist history there!
Russell gambled on a hail mary strategy and he lost due to being underweight. It doesn’t even deserve a mention here.
Applebook
4th February 2025, 0:14
It’s interesting that you faulted George for poor tire management in Belgium, yet it was his tire management that allowed him to go with a one-stopper. Even with a slightly lighter car, his tires were so old that Lewis should have easily passed him, yet failed. It was a brilliant showcase of tire management at a race where he lacked ultimate pace compared to his teammate.
Riccard
30th January 2025, 8:30
Russell could easily have been 3rd here rather than 4th: I don’t disagree with the ranking, but simply note his year was very close to that of Norris.
Both drove well throughout the year and clearly outdrove their teammates, while nonetheless leaving points on the table.
Russell can take comfort that his own missed points were often down to bad luck in marginal situations, while Norris’s were often due to bad starts and racecraft.
If these two find themselves at the front this year in equal machinery – ideally with the Red Bull a couple of tenths slower -we will be in for a cracker of a season.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
30th January 2025, 9:20
Add Lewis to that mix anywhere, and you also have my ideal season I think ;)
DonSmee (@david-beau)
1st February 2025, 0:54
Agreed. I think Russsell had a better season than Norris.
Peter707
30th January 2025, 8:43
I think he was better than Norris.
Frank
30th January 2025, 9:47
Oddly enough, I would argue exactly the opposite. If Mercedes were convinced that Russell could take on Verstappen, I think they would have played it safe with their second driver.
Fpr me , I think his qualy speed and tactical acumen are absolute top tier but he has not always been able to maximise results on sunday.
Jere (@jerejj)
30th January 2025, 9:57
I correctly assumed his ranking after Sainz & my prediction for the top 3 order is VER-NOR-LEC.
David BR (@david-br)
30th January 2025, 11:55
Have to admit, Keith’s positive spin has me rethinking Russell’s performance over 2024. It’s been frustrating to see Mercedes failing to provide a consistently fast car over the years he’s been there (going into his 4th now) since, on evidence, he’d be the most likely to pose a real challenge to Verstappen through his speed, consistency and own aggressive racing – which puts him ahead of Norris and Piastri in terms of overall driving talent, maybe level with Leclerc. Buy then just when he has the team to himself, Antonelli arrives. Not sure how I read that. Toto Wolff’s remarks about his future driver lineup over 2024 seldom exalted GR and the Verstappen rumours hardly expressed total confidence that Russell could do just as well. But I agree with other posters, this year will be the real test for Russell.
Rolfski (@rolfski)
1st February 2025, 9:01
His best season in F1 so far, that’s for sure.