For the second season in a row, team Mercedes failed to meet expectations. While George Russell has no active role in it, he’s happy to share the team’s downfall with his teammate, Lewis Hamilton.
While speaking to Square Mile recently, Russell shared that being a teammate to Hamilton is itself a golden opportunity. But, when the team is in jeopardy, he’s not worried since he will not be the only one to take the blame.
2009: A boy named George Russell chases Lewis Hamilton around asking for an autograph.
2021: George Russell signs with Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton’s next teammate, becoming the youngest Mercedes F1 driver ever.
Don’t give up on your dreams. pic.twitter.com/dIROOzCtKF
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) September 7, 2021
The former Williams driver said, “Especially now that the car isn’t performing as we want, having him as my teammate has saved me in some regard.” Admittedly, the Silver Arrows went down in terms of performance as the 25-year-old joined the team in 2022.
Since there was a significant downfall in performance, people will not get to blame him alone even though the drivers do not have an active role in it. Russell and Hamilton began their second season together in 2023.
Russell tipped to rebel against Hamilton
Famous AFTV expert Robbie Lyle has recently opened up on Russell versus Hamilton at Mercedes. Lyle thinks that the young Briton might rebel against his older teammate and compatriot in the near future.
The rebel is, of course, expected to be about supremacy, as Lyle mentioned that there is no place for the number two driver in Formula 1 even though there are no such rules in the team.
The best driver line-up in F1. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/lPy17pU3sa
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 11, 2023
But Russell is widely regarded as number two behind the seven-time world champion since he joined by replacing Valtteri Bottas. As the duo is on their second year in the team together, the 25-year-old is no longer expected to lay low after beating Hamilton in the first season.
Hamilton is suspected of using “mind games” against Russell
The FIA press conference host has recently revealed a fascinating fact about Hamilton. He suspects that the 38-year-old is using his “mind games” against his younger teammate.
Talking to F1 Nation Podcast, Clarkson shared that the way Hamilton allows Russell to take over and speak for the team says a lot about them. This shows that the Stevenage-born is allowing his younger teammate to take over as the face of the team.
Is Hamilton trying to give George Russell the false hope of being the dominant power in Mercedes and hit him hard with his performance later on? Tom Clarkson further asked as he found the whole ordeal quite interesting.
