How Russell thinks Hamilton could have damaged Verstappen’s F1 career

Verstappen enjoyed a meteoric rise to F1, having made his grand prix debut at just 17 years old with Red Bull’s sister team Toro Rosso in 2015, before earning promotion to the senior squad four races into the following season.

The Dutchman has gone on to rack up 37 victories and two world championships since, and looks on course to seal a third consecutive world title amid Red Bull’s dominant start to 2023. 

But Russell, who spent three seasons at backmarkers Williams before joining Mercedes, reckons things would have been different had Verstappen found himself going up against Hamilton at Mercedes. 

Asked if he feels he has an edge due to spending so much time racing at the lower-end of the F1 grid, Russell told Square Mile: “I think that’s something you would never know. 

“It’s something I tell myself because I like to be glass half full and I want to take the positive out of every situation.

“But I could sit here and say I lost three years of my career because I was in a car that was right at the back of a grid and I couldn’t fight for wins.

“Or you can see all the positives from my time there. I look at those years now thinking, “Yeah, perhaps I did learn more racing at the back compared to what some of my rivals may have done being thrown in the deep end from the beginning.

“Some drivers have been thrown in at the deep end early and it’s hurt their careers.

“For example, Max Verstappen obviously got his promotion after 18 months, but perhaps if he went into a team like Mercedes against Lewis Hamilton at the peak of his powers, it could have damaged his career.

“So you’ve got to look at it from both sides, and for sure Max was a greater driver after three or four years under his belt compared to where he was after 18 months under his belt.

“If you’re going up against a guy who’s absolutely in his prime and dominating in the car that he’s so used to, maybe he wouldn’t be in the position he is today.”

Russell impressively and unexpectedly outperformed Hamilton in his first season at Mercedes but trails the seven-time world champion by 20 points after the opening three races of 2023.