Lewis Hamilton is suspected to have used an outlandish weapon against his Mercedes teammate. The FIA press conference host Tom Clarkson believes the defeated Briton has played “mind games” with George Russell on the team.
Talking to F1 Nation Podcast, Clarkson said that he noticed this during the Australian GP press conference. It was the post-qualification conference where he noticed a significant change of habits from the seven-time world champion.
📰: FIA press conference host Tom Clarkson suspects Lewis Hamilton is playing mind games with George Russell. In Australian GP press conference, Hamilton let Russell answer most of the questions.Clarkson wonders if Hamilton is trying to lull Russell into a false sense of security… pic.twitter.com/GCtPeOXPpp
— F1 Naija 🇳🇬 (@f1_naija) April 11, 2023
The host went on to say that whenever a question was asked about the two Silver Arrows drivers, the 38-year-old was fine with Russell answering them. In other words, the seven-time world champion allowed the younger driver to be the face of the team.
As the veteran allowed his younger compatriot to be the spokesperson of the team in the press conference, Clarkson had doubts over Hamilton‘s intentions behind all this. Is he playing mind games on his younger teammate? Tom Clarkson asked.
Is Hamilton trying to hit Russell hard on track?
The British host also asked on the podium if the seven-time world champion is allowing Russell to take the charge in the interview and then hit him back when the time comes on track.
Clarkson was also surprised to see Hamilton sit back and enjoy Russell taking control of everything. What surprised him more was how the Briton sort of let “his powder dry.”
The best driver line-up in F1. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/lPy17pU3sa
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 11, 2023
He then added that he’s not sure what the man from Stevenage has in mind, but he certainly found it interesting to see him allowing the former Williams driver to be the man of the moment.
Is Russell really the man of the moment for Mercedes?
It’s not sure if the 25-year-old is the best man of Mercedes, currently. But statistically, he indeed is. While many might not agree or like it, statistics favor the younger Briton as compared to his older teammate.
In 2022, the 25-year-old was the best driver for the Silver Arrows. He not only defeated Lewis Hamilton by 35 points but also picked up the only win and only pole for the Brackley-based team.
Things followed suit in 2023 when the former Williams pilot went up 3-0 in qualification. George Russell managed to come up ahead on all three occasions against the former McLaren driver.
