The 23-year-old replaces Valtteri Bottas as Hamilton’s new teammate having signed a long-term deal to form 🅰a mouth-w🌳atering all-British line-up at Mercedes. 

Before the start of the 2021 season, Hamilton penned a new two-year contract extension with Mercedes to commit his future in F1💮 until at least the end of 2022. 

Russell’s promotion to the Mercedes works team follows a number of impressive displays in an uncompetiꦍtive Williams since making his F1 debut in 2019. 

He claimed his first F1🦄 podium in his 50th race at this year’s abandoned Belgian Grand Prix, finishing second to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen after securing Williams’ first front-row start in four years with one of the great qualifying laps in wet conditions. 

Russell, who wꦐon back-to-back GP3 and Formula 2 titles as a Mercedes junior in 2017 and 2018, has long been considered as a potential future world champion by the German marquee. 

His eventual graduation to race-winning machinery has long seemed inevitable and Russell’s prospects were boosted by an i♚mpressive debut for Mercedes at last year’s Sakhir Grand Prix when he stood in for Hamilton after🙈 the world champion contracted COVID-19. 

Russell came agonisingly close to a stunning maiden F1 win at the first attempt with Mercedes having outpe🌱rformed Bo♓ttas in the race, only for a botched pit stop to cruelly end his hopes. 

Following his departure from Mercedes at t𒁏he end of the season, Bottas will join Alfa Romeo on a “multi-year” deal to replace the retiring Kimi Raikkonen. 

Red Bull 🧔rese♛rve Alex Albon and Mercedes' Formula E world champion Nyck de Vries are among the candidates to have been linked with the vacant Williams seat.