Lewis Hamilton has been part of Formula One since 2007. He started with McLaren and won the world championship in his sophomore year itself. Later, the budding driver gambled on his future and joined Mercedes in 2013. Since then, he changed the history of motorsport forever. Nobody has won more races than Hamilton in F1. No one else has even crossed 100 race wins in F1 other than the great Briton. Lewis Hamilton currently shares the most number of world championship title wins with the F1 great Michael Schumacher at seven.
On the other hand, his new teammate George Russell made his debut for Mercedes last year only. The 25-year-old Russell joined the Silver Arrows in 2019 for the Williams team. And it is clear to every single F1 enthusiast that both drivers have a very different approach when it comes to racing. Recently, the Williams team principal and Mercedes’ ex-engineer, James Vowles, talked about the differences between the two Mercedes drivers. Vowles had a good relationship with both Hamilton and Russell when he was working for the Mercedes team. He has observed both drivers and knows how the two work.
James Vowles Talks About The Difference Between Hamilton And Russell
Before moving to Williams as their team principal, James Vowles was a strategy director of Mercedes. He saw Russell’s growth as well as knew Hamilton for a long time. Recently Vowles spoke to Sky Sports F1 podcast, where he mentioned that Lewis Hamilton has an abundant quantity of natural talent. Despite that, the seven-time champion works on his game every year. Apparently, Hamilton believes what he did last year is not good enough for the next year.
On the other hand, Vowles asserted that he has seen George Russell grow up into the driver he is today. The former strategy director of the Silver Arrows feels Russell has a lot of potential, and he definitely is a promising talent. However, he is very different from Hamilton. Vowles feels all the drivers bring their individuality, and it does not depend on one preference as everybody brings something different to the table. But they get success as a result of their individuality. According to the current Williams team principal, it is essential to learn from each other. That is what makes a good partnership, and it helps the drivers grow. But the one inherent similarity both these drivers have, as per Vowles, is the dedication to become the world champion at present or in the future. That seriousness makes them go after every millisecond.
Vowles Says Lewis Hamilton Has Got The Best Approach
However, James Vowles had to accept that Lewis Hamilton’s approach to working hard on getting better every race is the definition of F1. There is no doubt in Vowles’s mind that Hamilton is the most successful racer in F1. It is because of that very approach. Moreover, Lewis’ hunger for improvement and dedication to being world champion again is what differentiates him from the other racers in F1. But the question is, can he come back again to the top overcoming the unstoppable force of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen? Only time will answer this question.
