Russell’s Nice-Guy Approach Hurting His F1 Performance, Says Montoya

George Russell might be too nice to win a Formula 1 championship, according to racing legend Juan Pablo Montoya.

The former F1 star thinks Russell has the raw speed to be champion, but there’s a catch – he needs to get tougher on track.

“You think of Russell as a nice guy, and that’s not the reputation he wants,” Montoya told CasinoApps. “He’s got the speed to win a title, but I think he’s too nice on the track.”

It’s a surprising take on the 26-year-old Mercedes driver, who’s shown flashes of brilliance since joining the team.

The dynamic at Mercedes is about to get even more interesting. Young hotshot Andrea Kimi Antonelli is joining the team, and Montoya thinks that relationship could get complicated fast.

“The friendship between George and Kimi will be very friendly at the beginning,” he says. “But if Antonelli starts off quickly, that friendship could deteriorate quickly.”

Russell will start as the team’s lead driver, but keeping that position might not be easy.

Montoya, who raced for Williams and McLaren during his F1 career, isn’t sure the 18-year-old Antonelli is ready for the pressure cooker of F1, though.

“It’s going to be really hard for Kimi to live up to the hype,” the Colombian warns. “He’s got enough speed to be really, really good, but with speed, accidents can happen.”

The veteran racer thinks patience will be key for the teenage rookie.

“If he wants to come out and race and beat everyone, it can backfire really quickly,” Montoya explains. “If someone can pull his reins and steady him—’slow down, tiger’—he has a time where he doesn’t need to put himself into bad situations.”

The 2025 season could make or break both drivers’ careers. For Russell, it’s a chance to prove he’s got the killer instinct to match his talent. For Antonelli, it’s about living up to massive expectations while learning the ropes in F1’s fastest pressure cooker.