Taking on the Wolff: Is Russell really a top-three F1 driver?

Russell, having gone toe-to-toe with departing seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton, is continuing to show strong form in 2025.

McLaren may be the runaway leaders at the front of the current pack, but the 27-year-old has put himself near the front of the queue in the ‘best of the rest’ category, ahead of Hamilton and just behind reigning champ Max Verstappen.

When Hamilton jumped ship to Ferrari, many questioned how Mercedes would cope. However, Russell has made a promising start to his new role as team leader. Post-race in China, Wolff hailed his driver for maximizing results and hinted that he’s becoming one of the best around.

Wolff said: “I never give 10 out of 10 because there is always better; there is never the perfect race. But considering the circumstances that George had today, it is 10 out of 10 because he extracted the maximum from his car, out of the tires, and the strategy—it was a brilliant drive.

“All these discussions are around Lewis because he is the biggest person in the sport leaving for Ferrari; great story. And Kimi [Antonelli] coming in as the youngest driver, great potential.

“Little was said about George—I always said that is not right, as he is one of the top drivers out there. If you want me to name three at the absolute top, he is one of those three, if not top two. And maybe on his way to top one.”

When Russell first joined Mercedes, it would’ve felt much riskier for the team to pin their hopes on a relatively unknown quantity. After all, his Williams stint wasn’t just characterized by rapid qualifying sessions; he also had his fair share of shunts. The Brit’s crash with former Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas at Imola in 2021 comes to mind!

Since then, Russell has joined Mercedes himself and really taken the fight to his illustrious former teammate, Hamilton, outperforming him on many occasions and only marginally losing out on net points across 2022-24.

Russell’s growing stature within the team can also be seen as one of the key reasons they opted to bring in the less experienced Antonelli as his teammate.

Antonelli hasn’t done too much wrong either, becoming the first since Hamilton to achieve top-six finishes in both his first two grand prix. But it’s Russell who has gotten the best possible results so far this season—only finishing behind the two McLarens and Verstappen.

Of course, time will tell if this form continues. Perhaps the likes of Ferrari will get their act together after the double disqualification in China and put up a better fight in the coming races. But we could’ve been sitting here asking why Mercedes didn’t sign Carlos Sainz or Pierre Gasly. Instead, it’s looking like the silver arrows made a good call.

While it would be difficult to argue that Russell is doing a bad job, are there actually better drivers out there? If we take a look at his competitors, the easiest case to make is for Verstappen. The four-time F1 world champion is probably still the class of the field at the minute. Verstappen’s own links to Mercedes only underline how highly he’s considered in the paddock.

Hamilton’s all-time record would likely make him the next driver on many people’s lists. Some would argue that he’s past his peak, but in top form, his class is undeniable. Charles Leclerc is lightning-fast in qualifying but inconsistent, while title favorite Lando Norris is also a potential top-three driver. Like teammate Oscar Piastri, we don’t quite know if he’s a serial winner, but judging by the pace of the papaya car, we’ll likely find out soon enough.

If you’re really going for a wildcard, you might choose an overperformer like Gasly, Alex Albon, or Fernando Alonso. But there’s no denying Russell is in great form, so who knows? Maybe he is a top-three contender! Wolff himself says that it’s up to Mercedes to give him a car capable of staying on the podium.

“[In Shanghai we were] closer, and we need to analyze after a few race weekends where we are because, on Saturday [after Hamilton’s win in the Sprint], we would have said Ferrari’s dominance is back and the greatest ever; if you look at Sunday’s race result, it was on the underwhelming side,” added Wolff.

“So you need to not oscillate between exuberance and depression literally day to day but, after a few races, kind of find a baseline and say this is what it is now.”

(Quotes by Formula 1)