Formula 1: 4 drivers who could drive for Mercedes in 2020

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 29: Valtteri Bottas driving the (77) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W10 on track during practice for the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 29, 2019 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Charles Coates/Getty Images)
BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 29: Valtteri Bottas driving the (77) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W10 on track during practice for the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 29, 2019 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Charles Coates/Getty Images) /
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BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN – MARCH 31: George Russell of Great Britain and Williams (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN – MARCH 31: George Russell of Great Britain and Williams (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) /

George Russell

George Russell is currently in his first season competing in Formula 1, and he is driving for Williams, which have been and will likely continue to be by far the slowest team on the grid. Due to their overall lack of pace, they literally only have a chance to beat the drivers of other teams when these other drivers are forced to retire.

Simply put, you can already forget about the possibility of seeing Russell or his teammate, Robert Kubica, score any points this season with any top 10 finishes.

That said, the 2017 GP3 Series champion and 2018 Formula 2 champion is a Mercedes junior driver who Mercedes want driving for Williams this season, so they certainly have no reason to use the team’s lack of performance against him, especially considering the fact that it is not his fault and the fact that he has beaten Kubica quite comfortably in both of the 2019 season’s first two races.

After the 2017 season ended, Lewis Hamilton himself stated that he could see himself “handing the baton” to Russell ahead of the 2021 season if Hamilton ends up leaving Mercedes at that time.

The question is whether or not the five-time champion will even have the need to do that, because the 21-year-old Briton could very well replace Bottas as Hamilton’s teammate ahead of the 2020 season if he keeps getting the most out of his snail-paced car like he has down through the first two races of the season to prove that he deserves the opportunity to drive for the top-tier factory Mercedes team.