‘Russell won’t join Mercedes while Hamilton’s there’ Date published: July 25 2021 - Finley Crebolder Giedo van der Garde doesn’t believe that George Russell will join Mercedes as long as Lewis Hamilton is still in the other seat. Russell has been heavily linked with a move to the German team for a long time now, with the calls growing following his strong stand-in performance for the team in Bahrain last season. They’ve continued to ever since, especially given Valtteri Bottas has often failed to impress, and it is widely believed that he’s all but certain not to replace the Finn next year.