Formula One racing driver George Russell, who competes under the Mercedes banner, is currently in eighth position on the F1 driver’s standing table with 116 points, while teammate Lewis Hamilton sits two spots above him in sixth place with 150 points.

Team Mercedes is in second place behind Red Bull on the 2024 constructors standing leaderboard. 

Hamilton recently announced that he will leave Mercedes to join rivals Ferrari in time for the 2025 F1 season, which begs the question, is Russell ready to supersede Hamilton as Mercedes’ main driver? Let’s dive in to find out. 

Can George Russell become Mercedes’ main driver when Hamilton leaves?

Lewis Hamilton will leave Mercedes to start a new adventure with Ferrari at the end of the current season, and many F1 analysts and experts believe that George Russell is now at a point in his career where he could easily become their new main driver and is more than ready to replace his teammate. 

Who is set to replace Hamilton?

One of several drivers could potentially switch from their current F1 team to replace Hamilton and join Russell at Mercedes. Recently, Hamilton backed F2 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli. However, he’s not the current favourite to replace him based on what the latest F1 betting odds are telling us. 

Here is a closer look at which drivers stand the best chance at replacing Hamilton, some of which may come as a surprise to you, starting with the odds-on favourite:

Driver: Esteban Ocon (FRA). Team: Alpine Renault. Odds of replacing Hamilton at Mercedes: 6/4. Implied probability rate: 40.00%

Driver: Max Verstappen (NED). Team: Red Bull. Odds of replacing Hamilton at Mercedes: 7/4. Implied probability rate: 36.40%

Driver: Carlos Sainz (SPA). Team: Ferrari. Odds of replacing Hamilton at Mercedes: 5/2. Implied probability rate: 28.60%

Driver: Alex Albon (THA). Team: Williams Mercedes. Odds of replacing Hamilton at Mercedes: 3/1. Implied probability rate: 25.00%

Although these odds are designed to give us an idea as to which driver will most likely replace Lewis Hamilton, don’t forget that they can change at any time, and even the favourite isn’t guaranteed to replace him. 

Several other drivers could also swoop in and replace him. For example, Sebastian Vettel (4/1) has also been mentioned, along with Mick Schumacher (9/2) and Fernando Alonso (10/1). 

F1 Grand Prix events still to come in 2024

The next big F1 racing event is the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday, August 25, at the Circuit Zandvoort, followed by the Italian GP on Sunday, September 1, at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza. 

Next up is the Azerbaijan GP on September 15 at the Baku City Circuit, and then on September 22, it’s the Singapore GP at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. Other major events include the United States GP, the Mexican GP, the Brazilian GP, and the Las Vegas GPN, followed by the Qatar Grand Prix and the Abu Dhabi GP. 

Final thoughts

Max Verstappen is currently at the top of the F1 driver’s standings with 277 points, and Lando Norris is in second place with 199 points. 

At the time of writing, the odds-on favourite F1 driver to win this year by finishing at the top of the table at the end of the season is Max Verstappen at around 1/9 (meaning he has a 90.00% implied probability rate of winning). 

In comparison, Lando Norris, the second odds-on favourite to win, is currently priced at around 4/1 (20.00% IPR). McLaren are the favourite F1 team to win at 3/5 (62.50% IPR), and second odds-on favourites Red Bull are currently priced at around 6/5 (45.50% IPR). 

Before placing bets on the F1, always check the latest odds and try to understand what they are trying to tell you about the most likely outcome, and make sure you stay on top of the latest F1 news, updates, and rumours to give yourself a better chance of winning. 

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