14/08/2025 13:50
George Russell has highlighted how it took Michael Schumacher five
seasons to win a championship with Ferrari, whilst assessing his
disappointment at having yet to be in a title fight with Mercedes.
The British driver joined the Brackley-based squad from Williams
for the 2022 season, which, unfortunately for him and the team,
coincided with the start of the contemporary ground effects era in
F1. Mercedes has struggled throughout the current generation, a far
cry from the form it displayed during its run of eight-consecutive
constructors' championships between 2014 and 2021 - and far from
what Russell expected. When asked if the considerable wait for
machinery capable of sustaining a title charge had further
motivated him to succeed, the 27-year-old, who is in the midst of a
strong campaign with five podiums and a victory at the Canadian
Grand Prix, agreed. "Yeah, for sure," he told Motorsport.com. "I'm
definitely more hungry than ever just to try and perform. "I would
have hoped by now, seven seasons in, I would have at least had a
year of fighting for a championship. "When I joined Mercedes, we
thought every year would be a championship fight. Unfortunately, it
hasn't turned out that way." Misery loves company, as they say, and
Russell is not alone in his current plight. The 2018 F2 champion
highlighted how his predecessor, Charles Leclerc, has suffered a
similar fate at Ferrari. "It's been the same for Charles as well,"
the four-time grand prix winner pointed out before highlighting how
things have worked out in compatriot Lando Norris' favour.
"Arguably, nobody would have predicted two years ago McLaren would
have made this step. Lando did five years with them and had no
fight either. "So, you've just got to accept the fact that that is
the nature of F1. That's always been the case." Russell further
reflected on his situation with Mercedes, drawing on the time it
took Michael Schumacher to clinch his first drivers' title with
Ferrari to illustrate the time he still has, although the German
had previously won two crowns with Benetton. "And you look at
Michael Schumacher, he was in his fifth year with Ferrari, in his
30s, before he won a championship with them," he added. "I'm 27, so
I've still got a bit of time on my side."
