George Russell has garnered plaudits from a number of paddock experts for his adaptation to the Mercedes squad, including ex-Formula One driver John Watson.

After joining Merc from Williams, George Russell has been commended for performing a “definitely dazzling job” as Lewis Hamilton’s current teammate.

Despite Mercedes’ problems, Russell seems to be the only driver to have placed in the top 5 in every race of the season, earning his maiden podium with the squad in Australia, and he leads Hamilton by 49 points to 28.

John Watson, a five-time Grand Prix champion, spent a few minutes in an exclusive interview to praise Russell’s efforts in 2022.

Russell’s contributions on and off the track are appreciated by Watson

Russell has surprised Watson not just with his on-track performance, but also with his off-track demeanour.

“I think you can’t state highly enough what he has done in the first four races,” Watson said.

“I think the way he’s conducted himself within the team and within the media… he’s not standing in the front and taking the limelight, he’s respecting Lewis’ legacy.

“At the same time, he’s doing an absolutely blinding job, and his drive [at Imola] on Sunday was an outstanding drive.”

How about the Imola gap between Russell and Hamilton?

Watson believes Hamilton’s challenging week at Imola – and the distance between two Mercedes cars – has been blown up, in addition to his admiration for Russell.

Even after the Drag Reduction System (DRS) was triggered midway through the race, Hamilton spent the majority of it stranded behind Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri, with overtaking difficult.

“Had the circumstances been the other way around, would George have done a better job than Lewis behind Gasly or not? I suspect probably not,” Watson added.

“George had a very good first lap and gained positions, and found himself in a much easier situation than Lewis. Lewis found himself bogged down in the middle of cars; he’s got cars around him, behind him, on top of him…

“If that had been in last year’s car, as we saw [in the Sprint race] in Brazil, he would have picked them off, but he’s not on that car. He hasn’t got that advantage over his competitors that he had in 2021.”

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