Lewis Hamilton believes there is "no doubt" George Russell can work his way to one day becoming Formula 1 champion.

The Mercedes junior echoed Charles Leclerc's path to the F1 grid by winning F3 and F2 at the first attempt, but has struggled to make a significant impact at a Williams team floundering at the back of the field.

That is highlighted by the fact that, after 35 races, Russell is still yet to score a point in F1. And recently at Imola, the 22-year-old made the headlines for the wrong reasons after crashing out behind the Safety Car while running 10th at Imola.

Hamilton though was one of those to console the Briton on Instagram after the race.

"Looking at those that are in the early phases of their Formula 1 career, I’ve been there, many of us have been there and I know what it’s like to have experiences like that and I just wanted to show that it’s OK, don’t beat yourself down too much," the seven-time world champion explained via RaceFans.

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The Mercedes driver then voiced his confidence in Russell to work his way to the front of the grid, comparing his situation to Fernando Alonso at Minardi back in 2001.

"He’s going to do it his own way anyway because that’s how we are wired as racing drivers," Hamilton said.

"But I just wanted to show some support because I think what he’s done, I think his approach, what he’s been able to do has been similar to if you look at Alonso, a lot of the drivers coming into one of the teams that are further back, having an opportunity to grow and improve and lead a team and make mistakes, all those different things.

"I think this year it’s just been great how he’s handled everything and what he’s done with that car to put it into Q2 quite often and really deliver great results.

"I’m really impressed with his craft and how he’s growing and I really do think he really is the future," he stated.

"There’s several drivers that are the future of this sport, he’s one of them and I’m really excited to see his progression. I have no doubt that he has the potential to be a future champion."

After Hamilton made history by matching Schumacher's record for most F1 titles in Istanbul, Russell reciprocated the praise toward his fellow countryman.

“Personally, I’m running out of superlatives for Lewis,” he said.

“I think everybody knows how great he is – even while he was a two-time, three-time world champion. But for me, when I joined Mercedes and saw him working first hand, I knew he wasn’t purely just relying on natural talent.

“He doesn’t just wake up on a Sunday morning and jump in and he’s the fastest. He puts a huge amount of effort in, which I don’t think he really gets the credit for.

“That grew my respect for him massively and he works on the smallest of small details, just to excel and get that little bit extra from himself.”