In a mightily impressive rookie Mercedes campaign, Russell became the first teammate to outscore Lewis Hamilton in six years, finishing fourth in the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:F1 2022 drivers’ standings, two places and 35 points cl💦ear of his♔ seven-time world champion teammate. 

Despite what proved to be a hugely challenging season for Mercedes with a car that was largely not competitive, Russell claimed𝓀 the team’s sole victory of 2022 with a superb drive in Brazil to beat Hamilton. 

His performances caught the eye of two-time F1 world champion Hakkinen, who has backed Russell to come♔ out on top again next season. 

“What he did in Brazil, it was brillia🤪nt,” Hakkinen told Top Gear Magazine. “The team has improved the car massively, so they can win races. Is he able to continue that trend?

“If he can keep with that experience what he has in Mercedes, and experience what he has in Formula One in general, he can keep Lewis behind. It’s really impressivᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚe.

“Because Lewis is🍬 incredible. Incredible personality, incredible driver. So if George can go for it, then I think England can look like ‘Wow, what a driver we have.”

And Hakkinen believes Ru🌜ssell, who starred in uncompetitive machinery at Williams for three years prior to joining Mercedes, has all the potential to becom♛e a future world champion. 

“The list is unbelievabl๊y long when you start fine-tuning every aspect of being a racing driver,” Hakkinen explained. “But he has al🐻ready a massively long career behind him.

“Talking about karting, all those other categories, and his knowledge of data, his capabilities handling the car in extreme situations… I am confident he has all the p🦹otential to🅠 be a great driver, potential becoming a world champion.”