It almost seems odd how George Russell is still so underrated at this point.
He drove a Williams to Q3 four times in 2021, and to a "podium" in Belgium after an unreal P2 qualifying effort in the wet. He should've won in his first-ever drive in a Mercedes in 2020.
He outperformed Lewis Hamilton in two of his three seasons against him and has continuously posted sensational efforts despite never getting a championship worthy car. He's shutting out Kimi Antonelli this season.
And yet, it feels like Russell's efforts are a bit quiet amid the media/fan landscape in F1.
Russell's stats
Standings Position: 4th
Points: 172
Best Finish: 1st
Best Qualifying Position: 1st
Head-to-head race finishes (vs. Antonelli): 14-0
Head-to-head qualifying: 13-1
Head-to-head points: 275-284
Russell has cleaned up the mistakes
Russell's pace has been apparent since his days on the formula ladder, but after too many years in the lowly Williams, there was clearly a bit of a transition in going into a competitive car.
This isn't to say he wasn't doing well, but he was liable to commit some unforced errors. The Singapore crash in 2023 while he was fighting for a win, Montreal in 2023 where he clobbered the wall all on his own, or the crash at the beginning of the British Grand Prix. Sometimes, he would simply push too hard on new tires and see his pace melt away.
But the errors in 2025 are difficult to find. Russell's only race where he didn't score was Monaco, where a qualifying car failure meant he couldn't push up through the order. The British Grand Prix was a P10 that was based on overzealous strategy calls that included a spin, but no damage was done.
Russell only has one other finish outside the top five besides those two, and it was a disappointing day at Imola where he ended up P7.
Put simply, Russell is finding the maximum, or near it, most weekends. Put in a more consistently winning car and he would surely be fighting for a title.
Mercedes would be foolish to not commit their future to Russell
Having someone like Russell is essential for the situation that Mercedes is in right now.
Kimi Antonelli has promise, but ultimately is going to be an unstable presence in terms of consistent points for the team. Especially as he has clearly hit a bit of a wake in his confidence that has been tough to turn around.
Russell is at the point where Mercedes had hoped he would be a few years ago, Antonelli is still a ways away. In order to fight for millions in prize money, you need Russell to stick around. I think it has been bizarre that the contract situation has dragged on so long -- just open the checkbook and keep it moving.
Russell dominated at Canada in one of the few weekends that McLaren had no answer to someone else. He kept Norris at bay in Bahrain in an incredible defensive display. There's been a meme of late that Russell "does nothing" and ends up P3.
Truly, it's not that he does nothing to get his results, it's that it is expected that he will maximize his situation at this point.