The 1996 Formula One World champion, Damon Hill, recently emerged to comment on what exactly is going on with the Mercedes drivers. He also explained the thought process of the seven-time world champion. According to him, what would he or any other old driver do when he had been in the same situation as Lewis Hamilton?
At present, there are not only the rivals being a threat to Hamilton, but also his own teammate George Russell is worth counting as an obstacle coming in between in his ultimate goal. Following the result of the 2022 World Championship, fans are already aware of the fact that the young Mercedes driver has the skill to defeat Hamilton. He did it by 34 points last year. Russell won a race in his first year of contract with Mercedes, while Hamilton broke his winning record by spending nine years with Mercedes. So yes, Russell is a threat to Hamilton.
However, what Damon Hill suggests is Lewis Hamilton needs to be aware of the rising “forces of the empire.”
Hill also gave some advice to both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.
For George Russell, the former F1 world Champion suggested that he still needs to work very hard in order to develop a valued asset for Mercedes. And the best thing is, Russell, is already doing great. However, there is hard work left for the 25-years old. These are the works that Hamilton does not have to do as he is technically older and also has driven more cars than him.
Hill Explains How Lewis Hamilton And George Russell Might Become Hamilton Vs. Rosberg.
What it takes to bring Lewis Hamilton to the top is half a chance. He will be back where he belongs, to the podiums, delivering extraordinary performance just with a good car. Nevertheless, it is no doubt that George Russell can do it too. “But he is yet to prove it.”
Lewis Hamilton has got quite an experience at “sussing this out.” As Damon suggests, the elder Briton might be thinking that he will let Russell do the hard work because, anyway, “it is exhausting.” And the fact that George is also a GPDA, he has a lot of work to do. So these are the kind of distractions that do not come under the strategy of the seven-time world champion. This is what the Mercedes superstar did with Valtteri Bottas during his tenure with Mercedes. “Lewis prefers to relax before starting the season.” Explaining words to words what Hamilton plans, Hill said, “When Lewis sees an opportunity, he steps on the gas and disappears into the distance.”
Given the above story, one thing is clear, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are going to repeat history. The same history that made Nico Rosberg quit Mercedes. When he won the championship in 2016 instead of Hamilton, the relationship between them was ruined. And Mercedes had to face the farewell of one the best driver. So it will be no shock if George Russell defeats Hamilton, and then once again, a similar situation like 2016 will happen.
