Sir Lewis Hamilton has been in a serious battle against his Mercedes teammate this season. Last year, George Russell was able to beat the seven-time champion in his debut season for Mercedes. In fact, Russell won the only race for Mercedes last season. On the other hand, Hamilton remained winless last season. Things did not change drastically in 2023, either. The former Mercedes champion remained winless in the ongoing season as well.
However, Russell did not have an impressive outing this year like his debut season. The 38-year-old superstar had a better season than last time. But the main problem of the German team is the car. No matter how much the drivers try, it seems impossible for them to beat Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Anyhow, chances are that Lewis Hamilton might be the driver to win the only race for Mercedes this year if they win any. But what made the difference for Hamilton this year?
Former F1 Driver Tried To Deduce Why Lewis Hamilton Has Been Performing Much Better Than George Russell In 2023
Recently, former F1 driver Timo Glock told PlanetF1 in an exclusive interview that Hamilton’s overall pure feeling about W14 helped him so far. That’s the reason, perhaps, why Hamilton performed better than his teammate. But the former driver-turned-pundit feels Russell is not struggling mentally. It is just that things did not work out as Russell thought it would, feels Glock. Moreover, Timo Glock pointed out that the W14’s development might not suit Russell. On top of that, the steps Mercedes took in Austin worked better for Lewis Hamilton than his teammate, suggests Glock.
That’s why Russell has been unlucky this season, as he is not getting 100% from the current package. Moreover, things get difficult when teams struggle to understand why the car’s fast or why its slow. But Glock feels Hamilton’s pure feeling about the car is the only thing that’s working for the German team. On the other hand, George Russell is struggling to understand the right direction with the W14 car. Hence, as per Timo Glock, Mercedes needs a car that they understand 100% with all logic and stats. Only then can they have their drivers be closer to each other in the next championship, perhaps.
The Seven-Time Champion Would Like To Win One GP To Get Closer To Second Place
In the last few races, McLaren and Ferrari performed better than Mercedes. That is a major concern for the German team as they want to finish at P2 this season. Last year was more troublesome because of the W13’s porpoising issue. The W14 car did not trouble the drivers like its predecessor this year. But that Grand Prix where the Brackley team would enjoy a win has not yet happened in 2023. Only two more races are remaining – the Las Vegas Grand Prix and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Can Mercedes pull off a miracle in the remaining couple of races? And if they do, who’s going to be the racer – Hamilton or Russell? As things stand this season, Lewis Hamilton would like to beat Red Bull’s Sergio Perez for a P2 finish. He’s that close to a P2 finish. Checo is only a little more than 30 points ahead of Hamilton at present.
