Russell receives shock backing for maiden F1 title pursuit

Former F1 driver Johnny Herbert has backed George Russell to fight for the drivers' title this year due to the "opportunities" Mercedes will have. 

The upcoming season is expected to be one of the closest in the sport's history, ahead of next year's introduction of the new power unit regulations. 

Under the current rules, Herbert pinpoints Mercedes as the biggest disappointment but has called for the Silver Arrows to deliver a strong 2025 season. 

The Briton is intrigued to see how the new-look Mercedes team will fare following the departure of Lewis Hamilton and the arrival of Kimi Antonelli, who is just 18 years old.

"The surprise of 2025 some people might say could be Mercedes, who have been successful over the years but they haven't been in recent times," Herbert told Casinoutanspelpaus.io.

"They've been better but it's still not good enough and out of the rest of the teams, they're the ones who have under-achieved realistically. It's time for them to achieve what potential they've always had.

"Mercedes and Toto Wolff have George Russell and they've got Kimi Antonelli, that dynamic is going to be interesting, to see exactly who is gonna come out on top there. I would predict it's George."

Russell's big chance

With Hamilton having departed to Ferrari, Herbert expects Russell to become the natural team leader at the Brackley-based team. 

Russell has proven that he can win races, something which could be very difficult for Antonelli in his debut season. 

Winning races is one thing, but Herbert believes that Russell has the potential to do even better this year and thinks the 27-year-old has a chance to become world champion.

"George has all the ingredients to be able to lead a team to win races and win a championship. Is it the right time for that?" asked Herbert.

"Well, not the right time. Is it feasible this year? Well, this is probably the best opportunity that they're going to have because of how close I think the racing is going to be. 

"Because the racing is close that means that they will have the opportunities to win the races and then go towards that championship.

"Then when we go further, 2026, that's where things are completely different. No one knows what's going on that year. That’s the one a team has to grab by the horns and lead the way. Mercedes can do that.”