George Russell is the first non-champion and the third teammate of Lewis Hamilton to have defeated the latter in a championship season and achieved this feat.
Hamilton entered the 2022 championship season hoping to grab his record 8th championship title. But the W13 brought him multiple complications and he saw the chances of even fighting for the title fade away.
The Briton spent the first half of the season trying different setups on his car and experimenting with them. But while the car showed improvement it still could not help Hamilton claim a single victory in the 2022 season.
Final race of the season, that’s flown by! A huge thank you to every single person at Brackley, Brixworth and trackside for your efforts. It’s been truly inspiring to see the grit and determination every one of you has shown throughout the year. Let’s try and end it on a high. 👊 pic.twitter.com/acAKYbEabD
— George Russell (@GeorgeRussell63) November 20, 2022
Meanwhile, Russell outpaced his teammate on several occasions. The 24-year-old even won his maiden race in Brazil. Ultimately, the season ended with Russell in P4 with 275 points while Hamilton finished at P6 with 240 points.
Speaking after the race about his achievements in his first year with Mercedes, Russell said, “If you beat Lewis Hamilton, nine times out of ten you’re going to be world champion.”
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Which other teammates defeated Lewis Hamilton?
In 15 years of Hamilton’s career in motorsport, the Briton has never finished a championship season below his teammate except on three occasions – including Russell.
In 2011, 2009 world champion Jenson Button became Hamilton’s first teammate to beat him in the championship standings by 43 points.
In 2016, Hamilton was pipped to the championship title by his biggest rival Nico Rosberg. This became the only year when Hamilton contested for the title in the turbo-hybrid era and lost to his teammate.
Lewis Hamilton rates the 2022 season
Hamilton has rated the 2022 season as among the worst three seasons of his career. The 7-time world champion experienced the worst position in the standings in his career.
But the Stevenage-born rated 2011 as far worse than the 2022 season in terms of life. Hamilton had broken up with his long-term girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger.
He had also fallen out with his father, Anthony Hamilton, who had been managing his career at the time.
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