With 250-plus F1 starts between them, George Russell, Lando Norris and Alex Albon are now battle-hardened pros – but is there a future world champion in our midst? Chris Medland asks the questions

PHOTOGRAPHY: STEVEN TEE, ANDY HONE/LAT

Three friends bonded by the track, George Russell, Lando Norris and Alex Albon have become leading players of Formula 1’s next-generation drivers. We invite the trio to talk past glories, present predicaments and future world titles.

In late August 2018, George Russell arrived at the Belgian Grand Prix weekend with a reduced advantage in the Formula 2 drivers’ championship. His closest two rivals – Lando Norris and Alex Albon – were 12 and 30 points adrift respectively, with the latter having won two of the previous four races.

But as we gather the trio together to reflect on just how much their lives have changed in the five years since, Russell refutes that he was under threat. “Fighting is a strong word!” he says. “We were competing against each other…”

From left: George Russell, Alex Albon and Lando Norris at the 2020 Russian Grand Prix; Red Bull’s Albon was the highest finisher of the three – 10th

As strange as it might seem now for three such impressive and established Formula 1 talents, this was a pivotal time in their respective careers. There were no guarantees of future progress, not just because of their own results but also the need for openings to appear on the F1 grid.

Now, as they sit in front of a grey and dank Spa-Francorchamps and both Russell and Norris close in on 100 grand prix starts, it’s Albon who finds himself in a somewhat similar position to 2018.

“I think going into that year, there was so much hype for both of you,” Albon recalls. “I remember just from someone who wasn’t in that hype. I was like, ‘OK, these boys are clearly big dogs.’ And then Bahrain, you guys qualified first and second – Iwas third, actually – and I was a little bit like, ‘Ooh, if it starts off like this, this is not good!’”

Not that there isn’t hype around Albon – who is a little over 20 starts behind his compatriots after a season without a race seat – based on his performances for Williams, but Russell and Norris have both been able to enjoy more competitive cars in recent seasons, and with it the additional limelight that comes in tow.

Even back in F2, Russell was already being spoken about as the next big thing at Mercedes. It’s a prediction that has come true as he looks more than comfortable in his surroundings, leaning back in his chair at the top of the team’s motorhome, addressing the two drivers he calls friends as well as rivals. But he insists he wasn’t paying attention to the talk at the time.