With the farewell of Valtteri Bottas and the long-awaited arrival of George Russell, next year there will be some changes in Mercedes, and not just due to the fact that much more English will be spoken.

The 23-year-old, after 3 years with Williams, is ready to make the big step. He will have to get used to a much faster car, he will have to fight in the first positions, as he did in the 2020 Sakhir GP, when he replaced Lewis Hamilton, who was absent after contracting Covid-19.

The two British drivers are in very different stages of their careers. Lewis Hamilton is one of the greatest drivers of all time, George is a talented young man with an entire career ahead. The key to Mercedes' success this year will be mutual help, because with the new regulations the cars will develop a lot, race after race.

Williams CEO and team principal Jost Capito commented on George Russell, praising him as a driver and as a person, and mentioning his friendship with his teammate Nicholas Latifi.

"I think George has huge respect from all the team members and he is demanding.

"If he wants to get something done on the car, he really pushes [for it], and if he wants to get something done in the team he is pushing but always in a very positive way,” he said to GPFans.

"I never heard a bad word from him all year, still being very direct in what he wants and what he expects. I think that is a fantastic attitude of George.

"Nicky is very much the same, so character-wise they're very much the same and everybody likes working with them.

"They've also created a very good relationship with George and with Nicky, but also what was very important for the team and that is George is not there, 'I'm the better driver here so everything is done the way I want'. 

"He is really great team player as well. He knows that he wants to win and he wants to be the best, but he always is thinking about his teammate as well."

Mentioning a team radio message from Russell during the Hungarian GP race, where both Williams scored points, Capito added:

"Once in the race when he was behind and the strategy was that he pits first, he came on the radio and said, 'let's put the focus on Nicky and give the best for him' and that was not he was asked for. 

"Whatever he's thinking about this during the race, he's only thinking about the team in general and also about his teammate. I think his personal attitude is absolutely fantastic."