George Russell has said that it would be amazing to partner Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes if he got the chance to do so in the future.

There has been a lot of speculation around Russell this season, and indeed last year too, concerning his future and his potential switch to Mercedes that could come at the expense of Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas.

Indeed, it certainly seems likely that we'll see Russell in works Mercedes car sooner or later and, if it's sooner, it's obviously the case that he'll be partnering Lewis Hamilton with the reigning champion signing a new contract a handful of weeks ago.

Such a pairing would generate real intrigue as the old master goes up against another of the sport's young hard-chargers - just as he is with Max Verstappen this season - and it's clear Russell would relish the challenge of going up against a driver he obviously has maximum respect for:

“I think having the opportunity to be team-mates with a guy like Lewis would be amazing because in my opinion Lewis is the best of the best," he said to RTL.

“There’s no arguing his stats are definitely the greatest of all time and if you want to be the best, going against the best is the only way.

george russell

“I’m sure any driver would learn so much from a guy like Lewis with all of his experience and the mutual respect he has with many people, especially us, towards him.

“I’ve battled with Max [Verstappen], Charles [Leclerc], Esteban [Ocon], all of these guys, Lando [Norris] as well, in my whole junior career. All of these younger guys I’ve battled with for the last 10 years. The only one that would be new would be obviously Lewis because he’s obviously one of the greats.

“He’s a great guy, a fantastic driver and I want to be battling with the best and that’s Lewis, that’s Max, that’s Charles, there are many guys at the front of the grid.”