Russell hopes to learn from Hamilton: 'Would be amazing'

Russell would find it hugely beneficial if he is Hamilton's teammate in 2022. "I think having the opportunity to be team-mates with a guy like Lewis would be amazing because in my opinion Lewis is the best of the best. There’s no arguing his stats are definitely the greatest of all time and if you want to be the best, going against the best is the only way," Russell told RTL.

Mercedes may want to prevent Russell from getting beaten comprehensively by Hamilton in his first year and therefore they only dare to promote him when he is really ready. Russell however also thinks that he can learn a lot from a driver like Hamilton.

Russell wants to be put under pressure

Moreover, racing at the front is something you have to learn and in a Williams Russell can't do that. "As I had at Silverstone recently, this high-pressure situation is what I thrive on and Bahrain last year as well, when I drove for Mercedes I feel like I perform better in these situations and I want to find myself in that position again because I feel ready to be fighting the guys I’ve fought my whole career."

After all, who has Russell come up against over the past year in his road to Formula 1? “I’ve battled with Max [Verstappen], Charles [Leclerc], Esteban [Ocon], all of these guys, Lando [Norris] as well, in my whole junior career. All of these younger guys I’ve battled with for the last 10 years. The only one that would be new would be obviously Lewis because he’s obviously one of the greats."