Lewis Hamilton was the spearhead of the Mercedes team. He became a motorsport icon after joining the Silver Arrows in 2013. However, after a decade of triumph and glory, the seven-time world champion will take off his signature silver-black racing costume. In an unexpected change of events, the Briton secured a lucrative multi-year contract with Ferrari. As a result, in his last years of racing, he will be seen in red, driving for the Scuderia F1.
While his transfer to the Maranello team surprised the whole F1 community, it was always a possibility. The roots of his departure date back to 2021, when Hamilton almost missed out on a record-breaking world title. Nearly every F1 aficionado shared a similar sentiment that the Silver Arrows could have pushed harder on the last lap. Moreover, things took a peculiar turn when George Russell was signed over Valtteri Bottas. Since then, the fans have alleged that the German Marque is sabotaging Hamilton’s F1 career. After all the criticism, James Allison has explained the truth about ‘favoritism.’
“The Cars Are Identical,” James Allison Clarifies The Ongoing Misconception
As Lewis Hamilton prepares to leave for Italy, the baton will pass to George Russell. Russell, a young, brilliant British driver who joined the Mercedes squad in 2022, has been a tough competition to his senior teammate. Furthermore, much as the ‘ground impact restrictions’ challenged Mercedes, George Russell also posed a challenge to Lewis Hamilton. Earlier in 2021, the German Marque had the opportunity to re-sign Valtteri Bottas. On the other hand, the team preferred Russell because they saw a bright future in him.
While the All-British roster appeared to be intriguing at first, it all ended in massive mayhem. The issue was Russell’s too-competitive attitude toward his teammate. Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, used to outperform Valtteri Bottas statistically. But everything changed when Russell refused to accept second place. Furthermore, Hamilton’s growing disagreement with the technical staff pushed him away from the setup. As a result, George Russell gradually became the favourite, forcing his competitor to find a new home in Ferrari.
In an interview after the Monaco GP, the seven-time world champion recently made a shocking claim, affirming he can’t out-qualify his teammate. This resulted in a row of speculations, as fans alleged the Brackley-based outfit was sabotaging Hamilton’s career. However, the technical director, James Allison, has answered all the questions on the Beyond The Grid podcast. Allison pointed out Russell’s statistical supremacy over Hamilton in the current season. Thus, he feels that if the trend continues, claiming pole won’t be possible for the 39-year-old British driver. Moreover, while addressing the “systematic disadvantage,’ the technical head refuted all the rumours. He further explained that the team always tries to make both cars as identical as possible. Ultimately, he said the engineers iterate the cars on driver’s demand. Therefore, the technical team is not responsible for the setup on D-day. To re-affirm his claims, Allison highlighted the Monaco front wings incident where Hamilton voluntarily declined the new setup.
F1 Analyst Asserts Mercedes Incapable of ‘Sabotaging’ Its Own Driver
Laurence Edmondson thinks Mercedes had no cause to sabotage Lewis Hamilton. Edmondson stated on the ESPN F1 Unlapped Podcast that the Silver Arrows are not interested in ‘hampering or hamstringing one of their vehicles.’
Furthermore, he stated that the squad is not in a position to fool around because they have constantly failed to reach the podium. However, Edmondson feels it is logical for Mercedes to favour Russell, given Hamilton’s impending Ferrari move. As a result, the team may not include the Briton in further conversations about potential initiatives.