George Russell feels he would have been scapegoated for Mercedes' slump had Lewis Hamilton decided to retire after his Abu Dhabi heartbreak.
Russell impressed in his first three years as a Formula 1 driver. He secured impressive results despite often having the slowest car on the grid, and might have won on his first Mercedes debut had he not been thwarted by a team pit stop error and a puncture.
So when he got the call-up to race for Mercedes full-time, it seemed inevitable that Russell would be in the title conversation straight away. Alas, that would not be the case as his move coincided with the Silver Arrows' decline in fortunes.
