George Russell: Mercedes are fired up to bounce back from Abu Dhabi

George Russell has said that there is a lot of motivation and fire within the Mercedes team as they look to bounce back from the dramatic end to the 2021 Formula 1 season in Abu Dhabi.

Russell has been a member of the Mercedes driver programme for a long time now, but this coming season in F1 will be the first that he is actually driving one of the Silver Arrows cars.

Indeed, he’ll be partnering Lewis Hamilton who, after weeks of speculation over his future, brought to an end all the chatter by breaking his social media silence, with Mercedes also posting on social media that he’d be back for 2022.

Hamilton and the team, then, are ready to try and avenge what happened in Abu Dhabi, and Russell says from the inside he can see the fire within the factory to try and get after another Drivers’ crown:

“Because I spent so much time with the team prior to joining Williams in Formula 1 as a junior driver, I feel like I know everybody so well already.

“So we were just straight to business on the important bits and bobs, to understand the new car, to understand the challenges, and to try and prepare as best as possible for the season ahead.

“And I think following the conclusion of last year, there’s so much motivation and fire within the whole factory to bounce back. And that is incredible for me to see.”