Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have come head-to-head against each other quite a few times. Russell made his debut with Mercedes last year. And in his first season itself, the 25-year-old Briton proved that he could beat the best drivers on the grid. The young driver of Mercedes won his maiden Grand Prix in Brazil. On the other hand, fans also saw Hamilton finishing a season without a single race win. It has never happened before.
Since the Brazilian Grand Prix last year, tensions have been progressively building between Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. Some have voted for the youth over the veteran to be the new main driver of the Silver Arrows. It is because the seven-time champion has not won a race since 2021 and not even a pole position. The last pole position for Hamilton came in Saudia Arabia in 2021. It feels like something got broken badly after Hamilton lost in Abu Dhabi narrowly to the new champion, Max Verstappen. But despite all the chase and fight on the track, off-track both the Mercedes drivers has quite some affection for each other.
George Russell Has Immense Respect For Lewis Hamilton
Amid all these tensions of rivalry and ‘war’ in the Mercedes camp, George and Lewis both expressed admiration for each other. In a recent interview, George Russell mentioned, “Lewis is a great people person. He has a lot of interests outside the sport to relax his mind. I’m glad he’s around my initial days in Mercedes. The young Mercedes driver added that Hamilton always pushes himself to better his results, and he was so excited to beat the greatest driver last year.
In a recent game show-type interview, the Mercedes driver, Hamilton, Russell, and Schumacher also displayed the camaraderie between them. There was an event where the drivers had to guess, “What’s in the box?” Lewis Hamilton first guessed that it was a teddy bear of Mr. Bean. However, both Hamilton and Russell got it on their second guess, saying, “It’s George’s Teddy bear.” Later, Russell even said, “Can I take the teddy home for my nephew.” Lewis Hamilton and George Russell had a great bromance moment. The young Briton even mentions frequently that the seven-time world champion has always been his inspiration.
Hamilton Might Be Playing Mind Games With Russell
However, there is a notion that Hamilton might be trying to play mind games with his junior teammate. Tom Clarkson, FIA host of press conferences, mentioned, “Recently, at a conference, Hamilton let Russell do all the talking. But Why? According to Tom, perhaps Lewis is making George think that he is the new main driver of the team. Moreover, when Hamilton will get the right opportunity, he will strike back and take Russell by shock.
Lewis Hamilton is still searching for his eighth driver’s world championship. He is the second oldest driver on the grid after Fernando Alonso. It is safe to say Hamilton has reached the twilight of his career. However, his junior teammate, George Russell, is just beginning a wonderful and promising journey in Formula One. Even after the first three races of the current season, Russell was close to getting ahead of Hamilton. If it was not for engine failure in Melbourne, Russell could still stay ahead, but at present, Hamilton is holding the 4th place in the standings. Russell is at 7th rank.
