Formula 1 news: “Mercedes should have picked Norris over Russell”, says Palmer

Formula 1 news: Jack Nicholas, a renowned commentator made a statement that made sense to many. While speaking on the F1: Chequered Flag protest he said if he was Mercedes he would have chosen Norris instead of Russell after this year.

Jolyon Palmer, a former Formula 1 driver agreed with the statement. He strongly believes that Norris would have been the smarter choice.

He believes Norris should have been chosen over George Russell. George has been a part of the junior program of Mercedes since 2017.

Russell was promoted to the front seat to be Hamilton’s partner. He replaced Valtteri Bottas at the Mercedes. Bottas has now joined Alfa Romeo racing after being with the Silver Arrows for 6
seasons.

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Russell has spent three years at Williams and 2021 was a great year for him. He scored 16 of the 23 points Williams earned last year. Moreover, he also did his maiden podium finish in Belgium.

Now, he will be partners with the seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in the 2022 season.
He also earned plaudits when he took his FW43B into Q3 multiple times over the course of the year.

Formula 1 news: Palmer feels Norris was more deserving of Mercedes seat

Even though he had a great 2021 season former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer feels Norris would have been a better alternative instead of Russell.

Norris also had a wonderful campaign in 2021 at McLaren which includes his consistent performances across the year as he stood on the podium four times this year.

Due to an unfortunate strategy fail he lost his chance to complete his maiden F1 win in Russia. Palmer said that if he was Mercedes and if he was given a choice he would have definitely chosen Norris.

He said, “The way that he held off Lewis Hamilton at the end of that Sochi race until the strategy and the tire choice got away from him, was unbelievable.”

“For a guy that has never won a race to have a seven-time World Champion breathing down his neck in a Mercedes.” According to Palmer, it was legendary stuff from Norris.

Formula 1 news: Performance of Norris and Russell in 2021

Norris and Russell showed their worth to the world in 2021. Here’s a detailed look at how the two fared. It was quite apparent as to why Palmer felt that Norris was more suitable to replace Bottas at Mercedes.

George Russell:

Events:22
Championship result:15th
Best race result:2nd
Wins:0
Pole positions:0
Points:16
DNFs:5
Teammate: Nicholas Latifi
Average finish position:12.59
Average grid position:13.00

Lando Norris:

Events:22
Championship result:6th
Best race result:2nd
Wins:0
Pole positions:1
Points:160
DNFs:1
Teammate:Daniel Ricciardo
Average finish position:6.62
Average grid position:6.86