George Russell insists he is not at Mercedes to be Lewis Hamilton’s deputy

The 24-year-old has joined his fellow Briton at Mercedes after impressing with Williams

George Russell has joined Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes (Tim Goode/PA) (PA Wire)

George Russell insists he has not joined Mercedes to be Lewis Hamilton’s wingman.

After three impressive seasons with Williams, Russell, 24, is gearing up for his first campaign at the front of the Formula One grid with Mercedes.

Russell replaces Valtteri Bottas, the Finnish driver unable to match Hamilton, and whom Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff called the perfect deputy.

But when asked if he expects to take up the same role ahead of Sunday’s season-opening race in Bahrain, Russell said: “If I perform, I will not ever be in that position.

“I would be disappointed if I found myself in that scenario because it means I have not done the job.

“And if anybody finds themselves in that position, they cannot be upset or disappointed with anyone else because they are there for one reason, and that is because they have not performed.”

Russell is set to face the ultimate test in going up against fellow Briton Hamilton – the most decorated driver in the sport’s history, and a man motivated to avenge his contentious championship defeat to Max Verstappen.

I would be disappointed if I found myself in that scenario because it means I have not done the job.

George Russell

But Russell believes the greatest recent overhaul of the sport’s technical rulebook provides him with a leveller and the platform to challenge his record-breaking team-mate.

“It is incredibly exciting and I find myself in a win-win scenario,” said Russell.

“I am going up against the greatest of all time who has beaten everybody and I can only learn from him.

“Equally it can only be beneficial in the long run but the short-term, too.

“Now is the best time to have this opportunity because we are starting afresh with new cars.

“I would have loved to have had the chance last year but I know if somebody joined me at Williams they would have struggled because I knew the car and how to get the most out of the tyres.

“I was ingrained in that team, that car, and that philosophy as Lewis has been so ingrained in this team. Last year was a constant evolution but now is a complete fresh start and a good opportunity.”

Mercedes are desperate to avoid a repeat of Hamilton’s intra-team rivalry with Nico Rosberg which descended into chaos as the two fought for the title for three successive years.

Lewis Hamilton (right) and Nico Rosberg (left) were both challenging for the title when team-mates at Mercedes (David Davies/PA) (PA Archive)

The toxic chapter only ended when Rosberg walked way days after beating Hamilton to the 2016 championship.

But Russell said: “I don’t think it will become like that, regardless of performance.

“We are different stages in our career and Lewis has nothing to prove. He truly wants to see me succeed and to help me.

“I have to be realistic that for the last six years of my career I have always outperformed my team-mate, maybe 95 per cent plus.

“But suddenly I have to change my thought process. To have the best season possible you are still going to lose 50 per cent of the time and if I get close to finishing 50-50 with my team-mate that would be an incredibly successful season.”