The Mercedes driver, George Russell has picked fellow Brit driver Lando Norris as his 'favourite' to win the 2024 Drivers' title and feels that McLaren has the 'fastest car' that has a clear advantage over rivals Red Bull as we head into the triple-header weekend.
What does George Russell have to say about Lando Norris?
The McLaren driver Lando Norris arrives at the United States Grand Prix just 52 points behind the leader Max Verstappen and will look to cut down the deficit. Norris took home the win in the last race at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Given the strong form that McLaren currently is in and the mid-season crisis Red Bull is going through, Russell feels that Norris has a better chance at the Drivers' title as we head into the last six races of the calendar, where 180 points are up for grabs.
When Russell was asked who was in a better position, he said, "Well, Max is leading, so he’s definitely in the better position! But Lando’s got the fastest car right now. I think Lando can absolutely win this championship and I would probably say he’s favourite to do so with their form right now comparing with Red Bull."
"It’s going to be exciting from the neutral [perspective]. From my side, it doesn’t really change anything. I’ll watch with intrigue, but we need to try and get in that fight somehow," Russell added.
Mercedes will themselves have 'substantial' upgrades for this weekend's Sprint event at the Circuit of The Americas. Russell is confident that the upgrades will help him get into that fight. "We’re definitely excited to get back racing. We do have this upgrade this weekend. We’ve still been running on the same floor that we ran in Montreal 10 races or so ago, so I’m hoping this will be a step," Russell further added.
"I think at the moment McLaren are without doubt the most dominant team. Arguably they could have won every race since as long as I can remember really – they’ve definitely had the car to do so. We’ve just got to keep putting ourself in a position to capitalise when people make errors, and I think we can still fight for the top four positions on the grid, fight for that podium. If Max and Lando come together, we can maybe sneak a win! At the moment, we are still that step behind," Russell concluded.
Mercedes sees themselves fourth overall in the Constructors' standings with 329 points, behind third-placed Ferrari with 441, second-placed Red Bull with 475, and the toppers, McLaren with 516 points.
