Lewis Hamilton isn’t ‘afraid’ of the George Russell threat which he is set to face in 2022. The Mercedes driver won’t hang up his helmet yet as he still aims at racing till at least 2023.
With Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas earmarked to join Alfa Romeo next season onwards, his vacant seat at Mercedes will be filled by the young Geroge Russell who will finally make the step-up from Williams Racing.
After the fiasco that was the title-deciding race of the 2021 season in Abu Dhabi, remarks by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff after the race sparked the idea that Lewis Hamilton may bow out from racing. However, reports from Motorsport signal the opposite.
Also read: Former F1 chief questions Toto Wolff’s position in the Mercedes after Lewis Hamilton’s defeat
Lewis Hamilton has reportedly informed his team that he has no plans of stepping away from Formula One before the end of his contract. He’s also stated that he’s not afraid of the new threat in the form of George Russell as his new teammate.
I honestly don’t think there was ever any chance of Lewis Hamilton retiring.
Toto Wolff was simply trying to back the FIA & Michael Masi into a corner by hinting that he would quit, and as such, Mercedes will get the reform they want. Classic #F1 politics, for me.
— Philip West (@Philip_RJ89) December 22, 2021
Russell has essentially been on loan to Williams for the last three years where has consistently proven that he is worthy of sitting in a competitive car such as the Mercedes.
The young Briton has some experience in the Mercedes. Apart from being a Mercedes test driver, he even stepped in for a COVID-Positive Hamilton at the Sakhir Grand Prix back in 2020. He may have even won the race if it weren’t for a series of mistakes by the pit crew.
Hamilton’s got the fight left in him
When asked about their snubbing of the FIA Award ceremony, Toto Wolff hinted that the seven-time world champion may not continue racing in F1.
He stated; “I would very much hope that Lewis continues racing – because he is the greatest driver of all times”
“I think as a racer his heart will say he needs to continue.”
Now, it is more than likely that Hamilton will decide that he will want to continue racing until his contract expires at the end of 2023. He will want to go for that record-breaking eighth-world championship.
With Russell as his new teammate, Lewis will look to bring the fight back to the successful Red Bull pairing of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. Whether or not Russell will be asked to play the wingman role as Bottas has played all these years is yet to be seen.
It will be all to play when Formula One returns in March 2022 in Bahrain.
