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You know Russel is the kind of driver who just grows on you. I started liking him ironically a few years back because he was just a walking meme, but over time I genuinely found myself liking his humour, quick witt and the way he does not take himself too seriously. He’s never afraid to be the butt of the joke, and instead fully leans into it. Additionally he’s actually a damn good driver, he just had the misfortune to be a Mercedes driver when Lewis was the clear number one driver and they did not have the best car. I’m really looking forward to him being the Mercedes number 1 and how he performs compared to a hungry rookie like Anfonelli
He seems very oldschool, in a good way. Even his tendency to sometimes just bottle it reminds me of the better times in F1, when even Schumacher could bonk his car against Monaco's tunnel exit from first place. A real boy in a field of fine-tuned driving machines and old world gods.
He needs to accept responsibility for his actions better. It’s always somebody else’s fault. He’s kind of a whiner. I agree he is a fairly good driver.
I think the reason why Charles, George and Piastri are getting more recognition and praise this season is because of the attitude difference between these guys and Lando. These people at least look way more humble and way more composed and yet ruthless as a driver. I personally did not like George much earlier, simply because everything he said sounded like written PR statements but i would take that now, after listening to all the non pr/poor pr statements by a team and driver
To be fair those people are not being criticized because they aren’t as close as lando. Not that lando is doing a great job but he is on paper doing a lot better than those guys and we have to remember that before reacting so strongly to his mood. Again he has not behaved well but it’s unfair to criticized him without noting that he is being critiqued because of the fact that he is doing better and thus under more scrutiny.
i could never hate george because he has always been ambitious under the helmet even though it may have led to some funny radio messages he always seems eager to try something different to the rest of the grid and constantly asks questions to the engineers to give himself a better shot in a mercedes car that hasnt always been competitive and also the fact that hes shown hes capable of going wheel to wheel against the likes of max and lewis and has always been super quick over a lap hes the quintessential racing driver especially with what hes doing with the gpda bringing the drivers together
I personally have a lot of respect for George. He's had hot-headed moments but he's shown incredible maturity recently and it's great seeing someone who actually learns and improves from previous bad behaviour. I think he has a good head on his shoulders, and great potential as a driver.
True, and in his defense it’s hard to find any driver who hasn’t had hot-headed moments. Even the most tame, respectable guys have cursed someone or something out at some point in their racing career
George is one of maybe 2 drivers that has the aggression and pace on track to take it to Max. If they give him a car that isn't a shitbox we'd be seeing a championship for the ages next year. Glad to see public perception of him is turning around.
I’m not sure George is there yet. I feel like there might be a generation of could have been drivers that end up losing out to the next best thing. (How many have been labeled a future WDC, only for that to never materialize?)
@@kylem324 I would have agreed with you last year. But, I think he has proven himself this year (I count Spa as his win, and could reasonably have won in Brazil if the team had listened to him...also Silverstone he could have won if not podium at the very least) lots of bad luck for him this year. I think it'll all be down to which team does the best with the new regs in 2026
I see Russell as a very polite and charming person. On track, he still has room to improve, but I feel he is in the right direction. The huge amount of bad luck he had this year (disqualification, wrong shots by the team strategy, etc) looks to me similar as the bad luck Leclerc was having until last year. So I think that, with the right car, in a few years, he will be a great F1 champion. And the GPDA thing doesn't surprise me a at all because it makes total sense to how his character is and how he behaves about chasing opportunity and networking.
Both of his dnfs weren’t his fault and the dsq came from Mercedes miscalculation. He is in front of Hamilton at the moment despite two 25 point swings. He may not win a f1 world championship but he has the chance to beat a 7 time champion twice.
@@harry4454George is clear of rosberg imo. The schumacher that rosberg beat was a dusty one who hadnt driven for years and was in the team purely to build it. George has been performing on the level of Lewis who was just camr out of the most astonishing championship battle in 2021 and was still clearly on top of his game. Especially this year, george has shown how he is a master in setting up a bad car and extracting the maximum out of it. We saw that in 2022 too.
@@askeladden450 I think Rosberg is getting way too little respect. He went toe to toe with peak Lewis and won. George is beating a frustrated and dejected Lewis who most definitely isn't driving at his best (outside a few bright moments). Just look at how Lando disintegrated in his "title fight". It's still very much too early to compare the two. Rosberg is still much ahead or at least we can't know what's the situation.
George haa an excellent personality. He is the typical Brit to Max's typical Dutchman. I would like the two if them to have a road trip in a mini cooper without modern navigation only a roadmap.
Never would I have guessed that George and Max would be a good tag-team for representing drivers, of all things. George: "Your presence is no longer appreciated, and I believe it is in the best interest of both parties if you promptly excuse yourself." Max: " Sod off."
George seems a good mindset and teammate of the track. On the track he can probably be a positive number to like botas compared to others on the grid. And he wouldn’t go easy on max if he is capable of being number 1
@@parkour267honestly we, shouldn't place our hopes too high for George, I love him, but he still makes mistakes. Expectations makes Lando looks way worse than he is
I do not see this as British bias. Russell has shown that he knows his car and he can win. It does seem as Mercedes does not listen to him or trust his judgment. I really feel like when they are on, he can be a serious contender.
According to the team, they basically didn't want to take the risk of staying out as they believed the red flag wouldn't be flown...but the rain was getting worse...
Ultimately, it’s the driver who decides to come in. Maybe George should do a Sainz and determine for himself if the timing of a stop is correct. Whining after the fact is weak.
George really looks up to Max. I don't believe I have ever heard George ever say anything negative about him. Honestly, George with the right car is a contender for sure
I've never disliked George. I keep saying he has tremendous potential and Mercedes aren't looking at him with the level of seriousness that they should.
I definitely started looking at George with a different light around Spa when he showed that the Williams is worth something. He pushed that Williams where it had no right being (maybe a factor in all of the mechanical issues it had that year?) and showed what it means to earn a seat at a top team. It sucks that team rolled the dice and failed with it but he's kept positive at the same time. With his stances at the GPDA as well, he just wants to race and have fun. Rivalries come and go but the other drivers will in contact as we see with Vettel who is still following the twitter account.
Have you not been following Formula 1 the last year and a bit? George and Max are clearly friends now, they play paddle together and are often seen laughing and joking in the paddock. It's no secret. George doesn't really even complain about Max over the radio, that is the biggest tell. Goodness me.
This season is silly season full stop. Seeing a lot of the drivers personalities grow outside the track which is great to see imo! George did great with this and made me respect him so much more.
George has always made me think this is what a 18th century British Aristocrat would look like in the 21st century, BUT that is not meant as some malicious slam against him (it's just funny for me). That being said, as a member of Lewis Hamilton's F1 fan army, I know how tough it is for George (regardless of his own actions liked or disliked) to be a Merc driver. Right now, even though Lewis made the call on going to Ferrari, George will still tend to be seen as the Merc throne usurper (but he really isn't). In any case, this driver's association letter to the FIA is good and George has been showing leadership qualities in relation to his position as Chair (I believe that is the correct term). He is also a strong driver and his race craft is growing stronger at every GP (can't take that away from him). Hope (just as with Lewis at Ferrari) that next year is a new Renaissance for him. Cheers LawVS!
When it comes to wins George missed out on from problems not his own, add Australia 2023, where he retired from the lead with a power unit failure, over 7 seconds ahead of Lewis, who finished 7 seconds behind Max. George was also the fastest in Qatar 2023, going from last to fourth after the first lap incident, but we don't know what Lewis's race pace would've been. Moreover, P2 was absolutely on the tables in Hungary 2023, a track he got pole in the previous year. George had the one lap pace of Lewis, who went on to set pole, throughout practice and the early part of Q1, but track evolution was high and George's lap was mistimed, getting caught behind traffic going onto the main straight, losing him 9 tenths in the first sector irrc, and qualifying P18... under 9 tenths from the best lap that session and 4.5 tenths behind Lewis's time. All in all, he had better pace than Lando who finished P2, despite traffic, and finished P6, only two places behind Lewis. This is all to say, once you account for bad luck and botched strategies, George could've easily been on equal footing to Lewis in 2023, in spite all his mistakes.
the moment i realized George was crimonally underrated was Spa 2024... because the way he worked those tyres while keeping a charging hamilton behind him was just magical. i think in my book and in anyone who has common sense we dont really count that as a Lewis win, that was George's
Especially considering his car was almost certainly legal and the only reason he was underweight was because of how long he was on a single set of tyres for
I partially disagree, I mean I do think George is a really great driver and I would say at least as good as Lando if not better, but there's no reason not to count Spa as a Lewis win, at the end of the day George deserved it but so did Lewis, they both executed perfectly two different strategies and Lewis happened to be on the slightly worse one
Too bad it was Spa though... on any other track he'd probably got away with it. In Spa the drivers turn back into the pit right after the finish via the pit lane exit. On any other track they have a "cooldown" lap which the drivers use to collect a few pounds of "marbles" to avoid exactly what happened to George in Spa. ;)
@@claymore4852 nah brother, George is the only driver to ever complete Spa in a single stop strategy. Hamilton was hauling ass with a new set and got on George's gearbox for like 3 laps and George held him off with a set of mediums that barely had any grip left. It was not Lewis's win, it was George's.
The swearing ban probably has a lot to do with the fact that the Sulayem is from the emirates. In his culture openly swearing and misconduct is not allowed. Same has happened with the grid girls and with champagne on Arab tracks. Because of his public role in the emirates, he's also not used to criticism. So perhaps Suleyman is unsuitable for this role, as he will never understand the westerners, due to his cultural upbringing.
I was already starting to like George this year because he's had more recognition of himself whens he's made mistakes. No more blaming other drivers when he blatantly drive into them. I also like how clear he's been about his own performances. I don't know why but i loved his post race interview in Baku when he was very openly like "my pace sucks on one tire and was awesome on the other and i have no idea why. " And now that he's starting build the GPDA!? Go on my son! I fully expect next year McLaren and Ferrari will be the teams to beat, but i hope George will still be able to fight at the front on occasion.
RB and Max fan here; among all the Brit drivers currently on the grid, Russel is the one I genuinely like and wouldn't mind seeing regularly trounce Max. He's got that quick wit that doesn't come off as obnoxious, has nothing but respect for other drivers, and definitely paid his dues. Hell, I love him for demonstrating that the current Merc car isn't as bad as Lewis tries to make it out to be; or, if Lewis is right, then Russel is proving that skill-wise he just might already be par, if not superior, to Lewis. As "whingy" as people might make him out to be, I've felt Lewis has been way worse at that than Russel; then you have Lando, who is more petulant than my 3-year-old daughter.
I agree, this was a very good message from George. I didn't like him at first, especially when he had his phase of other drivers "turning into him", i remember Lando's engineer saying: "George is up next, be careful, you know what he's like." But he has matured nicely, and is not afraid to poke fun at himself (the stretched arm pose), and he no longer causes dubious crashes. Then again, as a Max fan, i can't really talk much either, as Max still has his moments, but okay. But is good to see him politely addressing some of the questions that most of us had, aiming at the FIA president. Adn now he's also slightly ahead of Lewis, i think all in all it's good year for him indeed.
It’s crazy that George is so overlooked look at how much Hamilton is struggling and look at how good George is. In a slower car he’s actually challenging for wins and podiums. And I’m pretty sure George is now ahead of lewis in the championship? Despite 2 dnfs where he was in contention to win and even won in spa. In my mind he’s easily one of the best on the grid
Absolutely wild claim... he's been the 3rd/4th best driver this season Handled a difficult car miles better than his GOAT teammate and would have been way clear in the standings - without losing 37 points through unreliability and Mercedes being incompetent at Spa
@@Monty3540funny how people dismiss his achievement by just saying 'lewis is washed', rather than admitting the insane talent of george. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Ordinary drivers dont dominate f3 and f2 in their rookie seasons. He is the 3rd best driver on the grid currently behind Max and Charles.
@@askeladden450 f3 and f2 is kinda lottery. He has talent and when he has competitive car we will see if he is capable of being a champion. As for Lewis washed we have to also wait for next year.
@@askeladden450 Welcome to bias, and glory supporting. The cognitive dissonance in believing that Lewis is the GOAT, while also believing that George is mediocre is causing them to create conspiracies that Lewis is being sabotaged, even though George is the one who has lost 50+ points this season purely due to Merc.
Before this year, I disliked Russell. However, I feel he's matured, and now I like him. Lando, on the other hand... never liked him, and I don't think he'll ever mature.
Compared to Norris, Russel is a much more mature and intelligent driver, like also Sainz is. They drive their own strategic race on their own trust (if the team doesn't order them to obey).
I randomly got this video recommended. Never thought that watching a man standing on a ladder with only his head sticking in his attic talking about F1 would be so entertaining.
I feel like Russell's biggest issue as far as fan perspective right now is incidents like the Bottas crash at Imola when he was still at Williams or the battle with Mick Schumacher at Singapore a couple years ago where he's tended to vehemently point the finger at others instead of taking responsibility for his own mistakes. He's had other less egregious incidents as well and I feel like its kind of soured a lot of people's opinions on him over the years. I think a lot of people need him to show that he's matured, and maybe something like this is how he starts doing that.
Why is this an issue for Russel specifically? It's very curious you see so many people pointing this as a huge flaw for Russel but for someone like Verstappen for instance, who has had far worse incidents and I don't remember him even once acknowledging doing anything wrong, much the opposite actually, yet I rarely see anyone pointing this out.
@@quase3 I'd say its a bigger issue for Russell right now because he's the leader of the Driver's Association, if he's going to be an appointed public leader like that you kind of expect him to carry himself maturely. And look a lot of those things happened earlier in his career, he's been mostly better since he became that leader but incidents like that create a reputation that's difficult to overcome in the public eye. Max still gets a lot of flak for his early antics and he's won 3 championships since then. And I never said its not an issue for other drivers, pretty much all of them struggle to admit their faults at times, athletes and competitors often struggle with it. Specifically speaking on Max, he has a lot of critics and there are LOTS of people pointing out the things he does wrong, I feel like we've been hearing a lot about it lately in fact. The big difference at this point is obviously that Max's resume very much speaks for itself where Russell is still building his. Honestly Russell's been growing on me this year, he still has some whiny moments occasionally but all drivers do really. He's had some strong races and pulls off some ballsy moves. Hopefully he can continue this trajectory, he's fun to watch on track.
he did the right strategic call in belgium and he would have done the right one in brazil if it weren’t for his team. i am really happy but at the same time surprised this guy is going beyond the „last lap russel“ nickname.
I think George genuinely loves the sport and wants it to be better to capitalise on its popularity. Sure, he can be quite outspoken but he's usually backing his comments up.
I actually rate GR63. He just needs a competent machine not even an exceptional one & we might see consistency levels only seen before in 2022 when he went on a Top 5 streak before Silverstone incident
I believe George has been underrated simply because he comes across as a bit straight-laced and he's been sitting next to Lewis. I get the feeling that the GPDA chairman seat is often back-heeled to whoever's willing to pick it up, but it isn't looking like a short straw in George's hands. That's a definite gauntlet thrown down at the FIA leadership. I thoroughly enjoyed the FISA/FOCA war back in the day, so I'm half hoping it all kicks off.
I dont like how people are questioning the red flag rule now that it helped max win in brazil. Its a very good rule that rewards risk and has helped lower teams score crucial points.
Russel is still in the end part of the learning curve of being in a front running team, he has the same tendencies max had before 2021, Russel is pushing things to the limit and has had a lot of accidents last year and less this year but that is how you learn the limits by taking it right up to the edge and he will need that edge,. Max did the same he had many crashes and accidents before he settled in his now dominant form from 2021.
If the FIA make it a rule that you cant change tires under a red flag, will they also add a rule that will artificially restart the race with the same time leads as before at the same spot on the track? I love how lando can call it a dumb rule while also making up 20 seconds on max by way of restart. The rule is fine and factoring it in is part of team strategy.
Yeah, otherwise you get what happened in Spa in the WEC. A Caddy crashed in the pit window, and a couple of porsches in 14th and 15th, who were one lap out of synch, got given a 1 minuite + lead because they happened to pit a lap before the red flag, and every other car effectivly had to have a drive thru AND a extra pitstop (because you also cant pit, except for emergency fuel to get you thru the SC period). You allow cars to pit under red flag, they may lose a couple of seconds, but everyone starts in the same boat. You dont have pitstops under red flag, it gives a couple of drivers a massive advantage
About Russell? most of us we don't give the attention who worth... To occupied with what Max Lando or sir Lewis does... I'm not his fan but I watched him earlier from Baku when he won at Austria and after because he surprised me with this s...up and let me drive. I have seen something there so I sit down and seen interviews who made at post races and podcasts. What I noticed will suprise the most. ..Russell how much fancy sounds or looks on the cameras is NOT that who we believe most of us... Is just playing the game. Russell Is very focused on his targets and keeps very hard judgement for him self and his actions. He will never back off on what believes is right and that I have seen it in podcast was invited and was complete his self. Honestly? He gain my respect because however must represent his self on the media deep down is war dog racer who believes on his self and his craft. Baku reporter ask him : how you think will be the best result for you and Russell said.... Two leading cars crash each other and I'm there to take their place...this guy can smell the blood.. fancy guys can't smell blood only sharks does. Just saying....
Whenever a league president starts attacking the players for behavior, it’s usually to take eyes off of money or use as a bargaining chip. “Ok, give us a 25th race and you can swear”
George in both 2023 and 2024 had some absolutely rotten luck and calls from the team that severely weighted his points in comparison to lewis (ex: dsq from a win this year that went to Hamilton) People being revisionist are gonna claim he got slaughtered, but that's far from the truth. They are VERY close in performance to the point that there are arguments that george has been better for large chunks of both years.
I'm thinking George and Max can be "Good cop, Bad cop". Like, George sees an issue, Max sees the issue. Max just says the thing deadpan to the media and causes a firestorm to get the conversation started, George presents a reasonable position and actionable changes to the FIA while they are already under fire. (Edit: lol you said that as i typed this kinda)
The most inevitable thing in F1 is still MBS being on the grid to congratulate the winner, whether they want it or not. Can’t quite remember Jean Todt doing that.
I think you oversee the fact that what you probably See as rude, actually is the Dutch straight forwardness. And donnot forget that English is not his first language. The F word probably has a totaly different load! Words are culture. Sh.t, for example you can hear from 4 years old!
There's an audio company in California called Schiit, drivers could just do a marketing collab with them so they don't have to pay the fine for swearing. "Did you see that schiit they tried to pull off? It was terrible, unlike Schiit audio, makers of the finest audio products" (Cue Jim Carrery saying "Who the hell are you talking to?")
Let’s not mince words here, the reason any of this is happening is because the FIA is governed by Muslim Arabs and swearing is Haram in their nations, not to mention the number of races that take place there.
Most Muslims that I know and work with do swear... It's just natural to do so in certain situations. I think MBS is just too focused on his own individual image and not on what his actual duties are. You get these types of assholes in every industry and workplace.
the thing with the red flag and tyres is, what if one just pitted for new mediums, while the other is on hard tyres. One is benefiting in that case cause of having to go against old hard tyres
it'd be neat to see unprecedented action towards the FIA at this point, honestly. I hope the guy never works in any capacity in motorsports again, his ego is unbearable:/
The fines go nowhere but their pockets. Consider 2022, RedBull paid $7 Million for breaching the 2021 budget, and at the same time the W series was falling apart due to lack of funding. If the largest FIA fine did nothing for the most visible developmental series that season, there is no reasonable expectation the money from fines actually benefit anyone outside FIA leadership. "It is good to see the fine being applied so well. We have got a new FIA couch and Tom is wearing a new suit. It's good to see that our funding into the FIA is being spent very effectively." ~Christian Horner
The letter sounds like a $800/hour legal office ! Edit: also, I think times have changed and the social media and thus commercial reach of drivers is significantly larger than ever. They are the faces of the sport that is the (only) milk cow of the FIA. Compared to them the FIA president is just an expendable nobody with a big ego.
@16:00 aAe you nuts? George Russell is one of the most witty and charming F1 drivers I can name! Part of that charm comes from the dry and understated way in which he delivers his remarks.
And the Red Flag Tire Change Rule should not be changed. Imagine you have a close race between two or more drivers, one pits first for new tires, and then sits 25s behind the others. The others plan on pitting the next lap to counter the undercut but the Red Flag comes out and those who didn't pit now have to restart on old tires, still have to pit, and have their rival right behind them on fresh tires. The only fair fix to this would then be a staggered start from the pit lane with the drivers released with their pre red flag timing gaps maintained, but that would remove the suspense and excitement from these situations. And should they then also remove allowing pitstops from Safety Car too in the name of fairness?
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You know Russel is the kind of driver who just grows on you. I started liking him ironically a few years back because he was just a walking meme, but over time I genuinely found myself liking his humour, quick witt and the way he does not take himself too seriously. He’s never afraid to be the butt of the joke, and instead fully leans into it. Additionally he’s actually a damn good driver, he just had the misfortune to be a Mercedes driver when Lewis was the clear number one driver and they did not have the best car. I’m really looking forward to him being the Mercedes number 1 and how he performs compared to a hungry rookie like Anfonelli
He seems very oldschool, in a good way. Even his tendency to sometimes just bottle it reminds me of the better times in F1, when even Schumacher could bonk his car against Monaco's tunnel exit from first place. A real boy in a field of fine-tuned driving machines and old world gods.
He needs to accept responsibility for his actions better. It’s always somebody else’s fault. He’s kind of a whiner. I agree he is a fairly good driver.
Law you are a woke
@@DrewShafer66 this is bait right? When its his fault he knows its his fault 💀
@@leandronogueira6046I don’t think he does, lol
I love how you can tell it was George who wrote it
This guy is just making stuff up. If he thinks this is fun and he goes further this way i am gone here.
@@johanfeenstra8778 It will be one hell of a blow to lose such a fun-loving, easy-going subscriber. Will the channel ever recover?
@@johanfeenstra8778 doei 👋
@@johanfeenstra8778what you wafflin about
@@harry4454 pls don’t listen to him he ate too many crayons.
I think the reason why Charles, George and Piastri are getting more recognition and praise this season is because of the attitude difference between these guys and Lando. These people at least look way more humble and way more composed and yet ruthless as a driver. I personally did not like George much earlier, simply because everything he said sounded like written PR statements but i would take that now, after listening to all the non pr/poor pr statements by a team and driver
To be fair those people are not being criticized because they aren’t as close as lando. Not that lando is doing a great job but he is on paper doing a lot better than those guys and we have to remember that before reacting so strongly to his mood. Again he has not behaved well but it’s unfair to criticized him without noting that he is being critiqued because of the fact that he is doing better and thus under more scrutiny.
i could never hate george because he has always been ambitious under the helmet
even though it may have led to some funny radio messages he always seems eager to try something different to the rest of the grid and constantly asks questions to the engineers to give himself a better shot in a mercedes car that hasnt always been competitive
and also the fact that hes shown hes capable of going wheel to wheel against the likes of max and lewis and has always been super quick over a lap
hes the quintessential racing driver especially with what hes doing with the gpda bringing the drivers together
He's got a little way to go but he's learning fast.
I personally have a lot of respect for George. He's had hot-headed moments but he's shown incredible maturity recently and it's great seeing someone who actually learns and improves from previous bad behaviour. I think he has a good head on his shoulders, and great potential as a driver.
True, and in his defense it’s hard to find any driver who hasn’t had hot-headed moments. Even the most tame, respectable guys have cursed someone or something out at some point in their racing career
I reckon this will not be the last time we get a statement like this from the GPDA.
George is one of maybe 2 drivers that has the aggression and pace on track to take it to Max. If they give him a car that isn't a shitbox we'd be seeing a championship for the ages next year. Glad to see public perception of him is turning around.
I reckon that the blowback toward Lando is causing people to look at George less harshly.
@@LawVS I agree, in addition to being involved in fewer incidents this year.
Thanks for the reply :)
always had, i always looked like Max ran away from fighting him in F2
I’m not sure George is there yet. I feel like there might be a generation of could have been drivers that end up losing out to the next best thing. (How many have been labeled a future WDC, only for that to never materialize?)
@@kylem324 I would have agreed with you last year. But, I think he has proven himself this year (I count Spa as his win, and could reasonably have won in Brazil if the team had listened to him...also Silverstone he could have won if not podium at the very least) lots of bad luck for him this year. I think it'll all be down to which team does the best with the new regs in 2026
I see Russell as a very polite and charming person. On track, he still has room to improve, but I feel he is in the right direction. The huge amount of bad luck he had this year (disqualification, wrong shots by the team strategy, etc) looks to me similar as the bad luck Leclerc was having until last year. So I think that, with the right car, in a few years, he will be a great F1 champion. And the GPDA thing doesn't surprise me a at all because it makes total sense to how his character is and how he behaves about chasing opportunity and networking.
Both of his dnfs weren’t his fault and the dsq came from Mercedes miscalculation. He is in front of Hamilton at the moment despite two 25 point swings. He may not win a f1 world championship but he has the chance to beat a 7 time champion twice.
I’ve always seen George like a Rosberg
@@harry4454George is clear of rosberg imo. The schumacher that rosberg beat was a dusty one who hadnt driven for years and was in the team purely to build it. George has been performing on the level of Lewis who was just camr out of the most astonishing championship battle in 2021 and was still clearly on top of his game. Especially this year, george has shown how he is a master in setting up a bad car and extracting the maximum out of it. We saw that in 2022 too.
Didn't rosberg beat lu lu too ?
@ yeah in 2016, and he also beat Schumacher
@@askeladden450 I think Rosberg is getting way too little respect. He went toe to toe with peak Lewis and won. George is beating a frustrated and dejected Lewis who most definitely isn't driving at his best (outside a few bright moments).
Just look at how Lando disintegrated in his "title fight". It's still very much too early to compare the two. Rosberg is still much ahead or at least we can't know what's the situation.
George haa an excellent personality. He is the typical Brit to Max's typical Dutchman.
I would like the two if them to have a road trip in a mini cooper without modern navigation only a roadmap.
Never would I have guessed that George and Max would be a good tag-team for representing drivers, of all things.
George: "Your presence is no longer appreciated, and I believe it is in the best interest of both parties if you promptly excuse yourself."
Max: " Sod off."
George seems a good mindset and teammate of the track. On the track he can probably be a positive number to like botas compared to others on the grid. And he wouldn’t go easy on max if he is capable of being number 1
@@parkour267honestly we, shouldn't place our hopes too high for George, I love him, but he still makes mistakes. Expectations makes Lando looks way worse than he is
I do not see this as British bias. Russell has shown that he knows his car and he can win. It does seem as Mercedes does not listen to him or trust his judgment. I really feel like when they are on, he can be a serious contender.
According to the team, they basically didn't want to take the risk of staying out as they believed the red flag wouldn't be flown...but the rain was getting worse...
maybe u could say its a valtteri its james moment
Ultimately, it’s the driver who decides to come in. Maybe George should do a Sainz and determine for himself if the timing of a stop is correct. Whining after the fact is weak.
George really looks up to Max. I don't believe I have ever heard George ever say anything negative about him. Honestly, George with the right car is a contender for sure
Except in 2022 ( I think ) baku
I've never disliked George. I keep saying he has tremendous potential and Mercedes aren't looking at him with the level of seriousness that they should.
George really grew on me. He is fast and the awkward social media stuff is kind of endearing! Also his jawline was crafted by the gods.
George is absolutely wonderful, I'm glad he's getting some of the recognition he deserves!!!
I definitely started looking at George with a different light around Spa when he showed that the Williams is worth something. He pushed that Williams where it had no right being (maybe a factor in all of the mechanical issues it had that year?) and showed what it means to earn a seat at a top team. It sucks that team rolled the dice and failed with it but he's kept positive at the same time. With his stances at the GPDA as well, he just wants to race and have fun. Rivalries come and go but the other drivers will in contact as we see with Vettel who is still following the twitter account.
Have you not been following Formula 1 the last year and a bit? George and Max are clearly friends now, they play paddle together and are often seen laughing and joking in the paddock. It's no secret. George doesn't really even complain about Max over the radio, that is the biggest tell. Goodness me.
George and Max and Lando and Charles all grew up together in Karting, I like how they can be friends off the track despite being rivals on it.
George should start acting like Carlos and just go with his own strategies.
Yup, he missed out on a few possible wins bcuz of not going with his own strategies.
This season is silly season full stop. Seeing a lot of the drivers personalities grow outside the track which is great to see imo! George did great with this and made me respect him so much more.
George has always made me think this is what a 18th century British Aristocrat would look like in the 21st century, BUT that is not meant as some malicious slam against him (it's just funny for me). That being said, as a member of Lewis Hamilton's F1 fan army, I know how tough it is for George (regardless of his own actions liked or disliked) to be a Merc driver. Right now, even though Lewis made the call on going to Ferrari, George will still tend to be seen as the Merc throne usurper (but he really isn't). In any case, this driver's association letter to the FIA is good and George has been showing leadership qualities in relation to his position as Chair (I believe that is the correct term). He is also a strong driver and his race craft is growing stronger at every GP (can't take that away from him). Hope (just as with Lewis at Ferrari) that next year is a new Renaissance for him. Cheers LawVS!
When it comes to wins George missed out on from problems not his own, add Australia 2023, where he retired from the lead with a power unit failure, over 7 seconds ahead of Lewis, who finished 7 seconds behind Max.
George was also the fastest in Qatar 2023, going from last to fourth after the first lap incident, but we don't know what Lewis's race pace would've been.
Moreover, P2 was absolutely on the tables in Hungary 2023, a track he got pole in the previous year. George had the one lap pace of Lewis, who went on to set pole, throughout practice and the early part of Q1, but track evolution was high and George's lap was mistimed, getting caught behind traffic going onto the main straight, losing him 9 tenths in the first sector irrc, and qualifying P18... under 9 tenths from the best lap that session and 4.5 tenths behind Lewis's time.
All in all, he had better pace than Lando who finished P2, despite traffic, and finished P6, only two places behind Lewis.
This is all to say, once you account for bad luck and botched strategies, George could've easily been on equal footing to Lewis in 2023, in spite all his mistakes.
the moment i realized George was crimonally underrated was Spa 2024... because the way he worked those tyres while keeping a charging hamilton behind him was just magical. i think in my book and in anyone who has common sense we dont really count that as a Lewis win, that was George's
Especially considering his car was almost certainly legal and the only reason he was underweight was because of how long he was on a single set of tyres for
I partially disagree, I mean I do think George is a really great driver and I would say at least as good as Lando if not better, but there's no reason not to count Spa as a Lewis win, at the end of the day George deserved it but so did Lewis, they both executed perfectly two different strategies and Lewis happened to be on the slightly worse one
@@claymore4852 yeah but he didn’t win
Too bad it was Spa though... on any other track he'd probably got away with it.
In Spa the drivers turn back into the pit right after the finish via the pit lane exit. On any other track they have a "cooldown" lap which the drivers use to collect a few pounds of "marbles" to avoid exactly what happened to George in Spa. ;)
@@claymore4852 nah brother, George is the only driver to ever complete Spa in a single stop strategy. Hamilton was hauling ass with a new set and got on George's gearbox for like 3 laps and George held him off with a set of mediums that barely had any grip left. It was not Lewis's win, it was George's.
The swearing ban probably has a lot to do with the fact that the Sulayem is from the emirates.
In his culture openly swearing and misconduct is not allowed.
Same has happened with the grid girls and with champagne on Arab tracks.
Because of his public role in the emirates, he's also not used to criticism.
So perhaps Suleyman is unsuitable for this role, as he will never understand the westerners, due to his cultural upbringing.
Perhaps but he needs to be aware that it's a global sport and there needs to be a middle ground where cursing isn't recommended but not punished.
I was already starting to like George this year because he's had more recognition of himself whens he's made mistakes. No more blaming other drivers when he blatantly drive into them. I also like how clear he's been about his own performances. I don't know why but i loved his post race interview in Baku when he was very openly like "my pace sucks on one tire and was awesome on the other and i have no idea why. "
And now that he's starting build the GPDA!? Go on my son! I fully expect next year McLaren and Ferrari will be the teams to beat, but i hope George will still be able to fight at the front on occasion.
RB and Max fan here; among all the Brit drivers currently on the grid, Russel is the one I genuinely like and wouldn't mind seeing regularly trounce Max. He's got that quick wit that doesn't come off as obnoxious, has nothing but respect for other drivers, and definitely paid his dues.
Hell, I love him for demonstrating that the current Merc car isn't as bad as Lewis tries to make it out to be; or, if Lewis is right, then Russel is proving that skill-wise he just might already be par, if not superior, to Lewis. As "whingy" as people might make him out to be, I've felt Lewis has been way worse at that than Russel; then you have Lando, who is more petulant than my 3-year-old daughter.
I'm not a max fan, but I respect him for saying how it is
Many people start by hating max. Then, they become fans of max. Thats because he’s always keeping it real. Also, he is an amazing driver.
I have slowly been warming up more to George. He has definitely earned his moments of respect, and the dude can for sure rock a suit.
I agree, this was a very good message from George.
I didn't like him at first, especially when he had his phase of other drivers "turning into him", i remember Lando's engineer saying: "George is up next, be careful, you know what he's like."
But he has matured nicely, and is not afraid to poke fun at himself (the stretched arm pose), and he no longer causes dubious crashes.
Then again, as a Max fan, i can't really talk much either, as Max still has his moments, but okay.
But is good to see him politely addressing some of the questions that most of us had, aiming at the FIA president.
Adn now he's also slightly ahead of Lewis, i think all in all it's good year for him indeed.
It’s crazy that George is so overlooked look at how much Hamilton is struggling and look at how good George is. In a slower car he’s actually challenging for wins and podiums. And I’m pretty sure George is now ahead of lewis in the championship? Despite 2 dnfs where he was in contention to win and even won in spa. In my mind he’s easily one of the best on the grid
1:25 I'm not a Russell fan but you have to be a certified lunatic to think that he won't have an F1 seat in 2026...
Yeah you don't have to be a fan, but I would hope that people would respect what he and the drivers are doing.
Absolutely wild claim... he's been the 3rd/4th best driver this season
Handled a difficult car miles better than his GOAT teammate and would have been way clear in the standings - without losing 37 points through unreliability and Mercedes being incompetent at Spa
@@Monty3540funny how people dismiss his achievement by just saying 'lewis is washed', rather than admitting the insane talent of george. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Ordinary drivers dont dominate f3 and f2 in their rookie seasons. He is the 3rd best driver on the grid currently behind Max and Charles.
@@askeladden450 f3 and f2 is kinda lottery. He has talent and when he has competitive car we will see if he is capable of being a champion. As for Lewis washed we have to also wait for next year.
@@askeladden450
Welcome to bias, and glory supporting.
The cognitive dissonance in believing that Lewis is the GOAT, while also believing that George is mediocre is causing them to create conspiracies that Lewis is being sabotaged, even though George is the one who has lost 50+ points this season purely due to Merc.
George is a quality driver and of quality character.
Before this year, I disliked Russell. However, I feel he's matured, and now I like him. Lando, on the other hand... never liked him, and I don't think he'll ever mature.
Compared to Norris, Russel is a much more mature and intelligent driver, like also Sainz is. They drive their own strategic race on their own trust (if the team doesn't order them to obey).
always liked George. I dont understand the hate tho
George and Max should co-star in a good cop, bad cop movie
Nah George was already a phenomenal driver both on and off the track. Sure we like rascals, but we also need gentlemen in race cars.
I randomly got this video recommended. Never thought that watching a man standing on a ladder with only his head sticking in his attic talking about F1 would be so entertaining.
Lando has proven this season that he is not ready for the mind games of a championship battle
Hopefully he takes his lessons and learns them well for next year.
Russell is the only driver from the same generation as max that could fight him
George Russell for FIA President!!
Seb coming out of nowhere to run against MBS for president
Johnny Herbert actually replaced Jos Verstappen twice. Once in Benetton and once five years later at Stewart.
Oh yes! I forgot. Even more reason.
To quote George: "Crikey."
I feel like Russell's biggest issue as far as fan perspective right now is incidents like the Bottas crash at Imola when he was still at Williams or the battle with Mick Schumacher at Singapore a couple years ago where he's tended to vehemently point the finger at others instead of taking responsibility for his own mistakes. He's had other less egregious incidents as well and I feel like its kind of soured a lot of people's opinions on him over the years. I think a lot of people need him to show that he's matured, and maybe something like this is how he starts doing that.
Why is this an issue for Russel specifically? It's very curious you see so many people pointing this as a huge flaw for Russel but for someone like Verstappen for instance, who has had far worse incidents and I don't remember him even once acknowledging doing anything wrong, much the opposite actually, yet I rarely see anyone pointing this out.
@@quase3 I'd say its a bigger issue for Russell right now because he's the leader of the Driver's Association, if he's going to be an appointed public leader like that you kind of expect him to carry himself maturely. And look a lot of those things happened earlier in his career, he's been mostly better since he became that leader but incidents like that create a reputation that's difficult to overcome in the public eye. Max still gets a lot of flak for his early antics and he's won 3 championships since then.
And I never said its not an issue for other drivers, pretty much all of them struggle to admit their faults at times, athletes and competitors often struggle with it. Specifically speaking on Max, he has a lot of critics and there are LOTS of people pointing out the things he does wrong, I feel like we've been hearing a lot about it lately in fact. The big difference at this point is obviously that Max's resume very much speaks for itself where Russell is still building his.
Honestly Russell's been growing on me this year, he still has some whiny moments occasionally but all drivers do really. He's had some strong races and pulls off some ballsy moves. Hopefully he can continue this trajectory, he's fun to watch on track.
he did the right strategic call in belgium and he would have done the right one in brazil if it weren’t for his team. i am really happy but at the same time surprised this guy is going beyond the „last lap russel“ nickname.
I think George genuinely loves the sport and wants it to be better to capitalise on its popularity. Sure, he can be quite outspoken but he's usually backing his comments up.
@ yes, i love seeing that he is starting to prove it
Everyone thought this year's battle was lando vs max - but it's REALLY George/Max vs MBS.
Much more compelling lol
I actually rate GR63. He just needs a competent machine not even an exceptional one & we might see consistency levels only seen before in 2022 when he went on a Top 5 streak before Silverstone incident
Personally I could be on board with Max & George paring on the grid at some point
I believe George has been underrated simply because he comes across as a bit straight-laced and he's been sitting next to Lewis.
I get the feeling that the GPDA chairman seat is often back-heeled to whoever's willing to pick it up, but it isn't looking like a short straw in George's hands.
That's a definite gauntlet thrown down at the FIA leadership.
I thoroughly enjoyed the FISA/FOCA war back in the day, so I'm half hoping it all kicks off.
I dont like how people are questioning the red flag rule now that it helped max win in brazil. Its a very good rule that rewards risk and has helped lower teams score crucial points.
Russel is still in the end part of the learning curve of being in a front running team, he has the same tendencies max had before 2021, Russel is pushing things to the limit and has had a lot of accidents last year and less this year but that is how you learn the limits by taking it right up to the edge and he will need that edge,.
Max did the same he had many crashes and accidents before he settled in his now dominant form from 2021.
Perfect George and max bit!!!! Love it.
George is the driver chat, not Lando, from the current crop of Merc powered drivers, who can take a fight to Max.
Gotta say. He only panicked about that red flag cause he knew stroll was next coming. Stroll gets lost in runoff area. I'd call for red flags too
If the FIA make it a rule that you cant change tires under a red flag, will they also add a rule that will artificially restart the race with the same time leads as before at the same spot on the track? I love how lando can call it a dumb rule while also making up 20 seconds on max by way of restart. The rule is fine and factoring it in is part of team strategy.
Yeah, otherwise you get what happened in Spa in the WEC.
A Caddy crashed in the pit window, and a couple of porsches in 14th and 15th, who were one lap out of synch, got given a 1 minuite + lead because they happened to pit a lap before the red flag, and every other car effectivly had to have a drive thru AND a extra pitstop (because you also cant pit, except for emergency fuel to get you thru the SC period).
You allow cars to pit under red flag, they may lose a couple of seconds, but everyone starts in the same boat. You dont have pitstops under red flag, it gives a couple of drivers a massive advantage
About Russell? most of us we don't give the attention who worth... To occupied with what Max Lando or sir Lewis does... I'm not his fan but I watched him earlier from Baku when he won at Austria and after because he surprised me with this s...up and let me drive. I have seen something there so I sit down and seen interviews who made at post races and podcasts. What I noticed will suprise the most. ..Russell how much fancy sounds or looks on the cameras is NOT that who we believe most of us... Is just playing the game. Russell Is very focused on his targets and keeps very hard judgement for him self and his actions. He will never back off on what believes is right and that I have seen it in podcast was invited and was complete his self. Honestly? He gain my respect because however must represent his self on the media deep down is war dog racer who believes on his self and his craft. Baku reporter ask him : how you think will be the best result for you and Russell said.... Two leading cars crash each other and I'm there to take their place...this guy can smell the blood.. fancy guys can't smell blood only sharks does. Just saying....
Whenever a league president starts attacking the players for behavior, it’s usually to take eyes off of money or use as a bargaining chip. “Ok, give us a 25th race and you can swear”
Trade George for Checo. Checo and Toto seem to be cool with each other and we can put the debate to rest to see if its Checo or the car.
Red flag red flag red flag 😂😅
But in fairness he dusted Lewis and deserves to be the number one driver.
Let’s see what Kimi can do, not that Kimi 😅
George Russell for FIA president !!
always been a russell fan
George looks dandy in his suits! 👍🏻
George in both 2023 and 2024 had some absolutely rotten luck and calls from the team that severely weighted his points in comparison to lewis (ex: dsq from a win this year that went to Hamilton)
People being revisionist are gonna claim he got slaughtered, but that's far from the truth. They are VERY close in performance to the point that there are arguments that george has been better for large chunks of both years.
GEORGE RUSSELL APPRECIATION!!
Been really enjoying your videos as someone newer to F1. Very informative, insightful, and humorous, all at the same time!
I'm thinking George and Max can be "Good cop, Bad cop".
Like, George sees an issue, Max sees the issue.
Max just says the thing deadpan to the media and causes a firestorm to get the conversation started, George presents a reasonable position and actionable changes to the FIA while they are already under fire.
(Edit: lol you said that as i typed this kinda)
Loving the impersonations, keep it. Simply lovely mate.
If all drivers just substitute any forbidden language with Sulayem we will see how the matter unfolds
Why they are punished for saying f**k in a moment of frustration and not while showing 🖕 to other racer.
I thought it was widely known that the money from the fines goes towards the Christmas dinner of the FIA board?
The most inevitable thing in F1 is still MBS being on the grid to congratulate the winner, whether they want it or not. Can’t quite remember Jean Todt doing that.
RUSSEL WINS WDC IN 2025
(Im a Ferrari fan, why am I even supporting him)
It's Ferrari or McLaren from a Verstappen fan.
VOTE GEORGE.... George for FIA President ;)
What George russel cooking
10:41 Oh PLEASE MBS, just try doing this I would LOVE to see how that works out for the FIA
lol. The FIA should never be criticized ever? That's so NASCAR of them...
I think you oversee the fact that what you probably See as rude, actually is the Dutch straight forwardness. And donnot forget that English is not his first language. The F word probably has a totaly different load! Words are culture. Sh.t, for example you can hear from 4 years old!
That's just crazy for Russell.
There's an audio company in California called Schiit, drivers could just do a marketing collab with them so they don't have to pay the fine for swearing.
"Did you see that schiit they tried to pull off? It was terrible, unlike Schiit audio, makers of the finest audio products"
(Cue Jim Carrery saying "Who the hell are you talking to?")
Let’s not mince words here, the reason any of this is happening is because the FIA is governed by Muslim Arabs and swearing is Haram in their nations, not to mention the number of races that take place there.
Most Muslims that I know and work with do swear... It's just natural to do so in certain situations. I think MBS is just too focused on his own individual image and not on what his actual duties are. You get these types of assholes in every industry and workplace.
@@adrian3355w That’s a lot of words to say “MBS is virtue signaling”
Facts. But most people are too afraid to say anything. They are the most entitled people on planet earth.
I did not know goku also loved F1, but i am now subscribed cause this was a really good video.
Russel's Spa win was sublime, too bad no clag lap. He fully outdrove the field, surprised me fully.
the thing with the red flag and tyres is, what if one just pitted for new mediums, while the other is on hard tyres. One is benefiting in that case cause of having to go against old hard tyres
it'd be neat to see unprecedented action towards the FIA at this point, honestly. I hope the guy never works in any capacity in motorsports again, his ego is unbearable:/
@0630 the schoolphoto of this year.
Now imagine the photo of 2025 with all thoose rookies and babyfaces 😂
This season as it has gone on has made more fans like George than Lando something unthinkable at the start of the season
The fines go nowhere but their pockets. Consider 2022, RedBull paid $7 Million for breaching the 2021 budget, and at the same time the W series was falling apart due to lack of funding. If the largest FIA fine did nothing for the most visible developmental series that season, there is no reasonable expectation the money from fines actually benefit anyone outside FIA leadership.
"It is good to see the fine being applied so well. We have got a new FIA couch and Tom is wearing a new suit. It's good to see that our funding into the FIA is being spent very effectively." ~Christian Horner
Will be interesting to see how he gets on after the departure of Lewis
The letter sounds like a $800/hour legal office !
Edit: also, I think times have changed and the social media and thus commercial reach of drivers is significantly larger than ever. They are the faces of the sport that is the (only) milk cow of the FIA. Compared to them the FIA president is just an expendable nobody with a big ego.
Probably. They'd want to run it by a legal team to avoid any gaffes.
I dont get why they dont just make it like this...keep the red flag rules as they are but still make a mandatory pitstop mandatory after a red flag
Did you forget 2020 Emilia Romagna GP?
That was a sad day...
I'll be honest, I didn't have George and Max playing Good Cop-Bad Cop with the FIA on my 2024 bingo card
M.J Reference in the title? We love to see it.
@16:00 aAe you nuts? George Russell is one of the most witty and charming F1 drivers I can name! Part of that charm comes from the dry and understated way in which he delivers his remarks.
And the Red Flag Tire Change Rule should not be changed. Imagine you have a close race between two or more drivers, one pits first for new tires, and then sits 25s behind the others. The others plan on pitting the next lap to counter the undercut but the Red Flag comes out and those who didn't pit now have to restart on old tires, still have to pit, and have their rival right behind them on fresh tires. The only fair fix to this would then be a staggered start from the pit lane with the drivers released with their pre red flag timing gaps maintained, but that would remove the suspense and excitement from these situations. And should they then also remove allowing pitstops from Safety Car too in the name of fairness?
George is the F1 gentleman.
It's FIA. They don't care, nobody touches it.
t. Someone that follows F1/Motorsports since the 80's.
Take Russel more seriously?
We are already taking him as seriously as we can, lol