Mercedes junior and Formula 2 racer George Russell believes the results achieved by Charles Leclerc with Sauber is opening doors for other young drivers to get opportunities.
The Monegasque has scored points in every race except Monaco since Azerbaijan back April and more recently in France became the first driver since Adrian Sutil in 2015 to make Q3 in qualifying with the Swiss team.
Already, there is growing talk a seat at Ferrari beckons for 2019, where he is an Academy member, but having proven future stars are capable of stepping up and performing, the Briton does think that makes F1 teams take note.
“I think times are changing slightly, you have the likes of Verstappen, Ocon and Leclerc going into F1,” Russell was quoted by F1i.com. “These guys can come in and challenge the experienced drivers in the field.
“I think what Charles is doing now is a great example of how competitive some junior series are. He won GP3 and then F2, and I won GP3 last year and [I’m] currently leading F2.
“From my personal selling point of view, let’s say, there’s a very good example in Charles to show what he’s capable of and what we’re doing this year.”
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Along with his simulator role at Mercedes, the 20-year-old is also enjoying test outings with Force India and with the significant F1 mileage under his belt albeit mostly virtually, Russell would feel confident enough to step up as soon as this weekend.
“If an opportunity arose with anybody at Silverstone this weekend, I’d feel ready, prepared,” he said.
“I know they believe there is potential with me or they wouldn’t have taken me on as a junior driver otherwise. I think they believe in me.
“Now we’re at the highest level of junior motorsport, it’s the best young drivers in the world, it’s definitely putting pressure on the guys who are managing my situation to hopefully find something for me next season.”
