Fearing Lewis Hamilton, George Russell Once Asked for Max Verstappen at Mercedes

Sabyasachi Biswas | 13/09/2023
Fearing Lewis Hamilton, George Russell Once Asked for Max Verstappen at Mercedes

There’s little doubt about Lewis Hamilton’s legacy in F1, considering the fact that he is the most successful F1 driver of all time. Drivers don’t talk about wanting to go up against a driver like Hamilton because of his expertise. One such example is his current teammate George Russell, who reportedly wanted Hamilton’s rival Max Verstappen as his teammate as per GP Today.

Hamilton is arguably one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time. The British driver has seven F1 world titles to his name with 103 GP wins, 104 pole positions, and 195 podium finishes.

Therefore, the fear of going up against such a driver would make any driver nervous, especially if they are an up and coming talent. This is why Russell might have opted for Verstappen to be his teammate, because he knew the Dutchman for a long time, and raced against him on multiple occasions.

Russell would have opted for Verstappen over Hamilton if he had a choice

During an interview with RaceFans, Russell was about his teammate of choice if he had to select one, at Mercedes.  Answering the question, he chose Verstappen because he believed Hamilton was the greatest driver of all time, and going against him would not be wise.

Talking about this, the British driver said, “Someone asked me before ‘If Lewis wasn’t my teammate who would I want’, and I said Max, because when I joined Mercedes, Lewis was and still is the best driver of all time.”

However, the former Williams driver finally joined the Silver Arrows and replaced Alfa Romeo-bound Valtteri Bottas. In doing so, he raced alongside Hamilton and ended up beating him right in the first season.

Despite the fear, Russell got the better of Lewis Hamilton in the first season

After George Russell joined Mercedes, he was still a novice against Lewis Hamilton who had over one and a half decades of experience in Formula 1. Despite this, the young Briton managed to do the unthinkable and beat the seven-time world champion in the same machinery.

Admittedly, it was a feat only Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button could achieve in all of Hamilton’s years as an F1 driver. Russell finished the 2022 F1 season in P4 with 275 points. Compared to him, Hamilton finished with 240 points and in P6.

However, the great feeling of beating a veteran didn’t last long for the 25-year-old. Coming into 2023, the 38-year-old showed his superiority. Lewis Hamilton is currently leading his teammate with 164 points [P4] after 14 rounds, whereas George Russell is in P7 with 109 points.

Post Edited By: Somin Bhattacharjee
George Russell Lewis Hamilton Max Verstappen

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Sabyasachi Biswas

Sabyasachi Biswas is an F1 journalist at The SportsRush. With over one and a half decades of love for the sport and five years of experience in the field, he dreams to be a regular at the paddock when the lights go out. A Red Bull fan and F1 fan in general over the years, he enjoyed watching Felipe Massa, Sebastian Vettel, and Max Verstappen dominate the track. Apart from F1, he's also a big-time Madridista and Federer fanatic. He was a sub-junior level footballer, won inter-district quizzes and debate competitions back in school. A travel freak throughout, he tries different cuisines and learns new cultures whenever he's away from the keyboard.

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