Lewis Hamilton, an F1 legend, has recently failed to shine on the world’s largest motorsport stage. The 39-year-old racer is having a terrible season full of misfortunes. Subsequently, at the end of the last race in 2021, the Briton looks to have lost his once-magical touch, with substantial hurdles in obtaining a victory subsequently. While he has been criticized for his current dip, the Mercedes F1 project is also to blame. Despite achieving his best season result in Canada, the Brit seemed unhappy due to his mistakes.
Moreover, over the last year, Brackley engineers have failed to address the fundamental concerns, fading the team’s hopes for a world championship. Furthermore, Hamilton has expressed concern about the technical team’s failure to tackle the difficulties, and Mercedes management wasn’t happy about it. As a result, speculations of the team favouring Geroge Russell were loud and clear. Fans believed Russell was the favourite driver at the Brackley-based outfit, especially after Hamilton’s Ferrari move.
Is Mercedes Favoring George Russell After Hamilton’s Move To Ferrari?
Since joining the Petronas AMG team, George Russell has been Lewis Hamilton’s competitor. While the seven-time world champion is having a spotty season, his opponent has outperformed him. Russell has finished seven out of eight races ahead of Hamilton this season. As a result, some speculate that Russell is receiving all of the benefits from the Mercedes setup. Hamilton’s post-race comments, in which he lamented that he could never “outrun Russell in this season,” provoked outrage and raised suspicions. Russell had new front wings, while Hamilton used the old ones. However, the 26-year-old racer said that the team was on the point of making a ‘coin toss’ choice due to the limited availability of a single front wing. But Russell’s senior colleague offered him to utilize the upgrade for the Monaco race. Although both racers later used the latest front wing set-up in Canada, fans quickly pointed out favouritism.
However, Laurence Edmondson opined that Mercedes had no reason to sabotage Lewis Hamilton. On the ESPN F1 Unlapped Podcast, Edmondson said the Silver Arrows would be least interested in ‘hampering or hamstringing one of their cars.’ Further, he explained the team is not in a situation to play around, as they have consistently failed to get podiums. However, Edmondson believes it’s natural for Mercedes to lean towards Russell, anticipating Hamilton’s imminent departure. Consequently, the team may prefer to exclude the Briton from future discussions concerning upcoming plans.
Martin Brundle Warns Lewis Hamilton As ‘Young Rivals’ Surge Ahead
Former F1 driver Martin Brundle warned Lewis Hamilton to bring his ‘A Game’ to compete against the new generation of racers. Further, he feels the younger racers are relatively fearless and prone to making brave decisions. While Brundle praised Hamilton’s racing ability, he emphasized that Hamilton must step up more than ever.
In his Sky Sports Column, Brundle praised the Brackley-based outfit, claiming the W15 to be the fastest on dry tyres. However, at turn eight, he pointed out an error in which Russell missed a chance to attack Verstappen.