“I Think We Should Give Lewis Hamilton a Little Bit of Slack”: F1 Pundit Thinks Fans Are Being Too Cruel to 7xF1 Champion

Lewis Hamilton is not that driver anymore, where he is winning races week in and out. In fact, head to head his much less experienced teammate, George Russell, is performing better than him. It’s something that people are not used to seeing such things happening to Hamilton. Therefore, many are criticizing the Briton for his poorer outputs. However, F1 expert Peter Windsor claims people are being too harsh on Hamilton.

“I think we should give Lewis [Hamilton] a little bit of slack,” said Winsdor on his Youtube channel. “I mean seven-time world champion. Been racing in Formula 1 since 2007. He’s right there in the mix. Maybe he gives a tenth more than George [Russel]. I think race pace-wise, he’s right there.”

Winsdor further adds that Hamilton makes up at other places even if he goes a tenth of a second slower than his teammate. For example, managing the car and dealing with other complicated variables during the race, which other drivers often feel difficult to deal with.

George Russell is going to be a problem for Lewis Hamilton anyway

Winsdor points out that Hamilton is a veteran of the sport, and every old guard eventually sees their decline. Therefore, it’s his analysis that the seven-time world champion can’t go on forever.

The F1 pundit even comments that regardless of how good or bad Mercedes has been lately, Russell would have always been a problem for Hamilton. In fact, for him, the 38-year-old has done a good job by remaining in the mix and keeping it up with the young blood.

Andrew Shovlin says Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are not focused on “the fight between themselves”, but on “getting our car to a level where we can fight for wins, can fight for championships.” pic.twitter.com/vB6QkZIWau

— Mercedes-AMG F1 News ✇ (@MercedesNewsUK) May 14, 2023

Additionally, Windsor also thinks had Mercedes been running for the title, Hamilton could have been better with his race craft. Nevertheless, even with this, Hamilton is achieving Mercedes’ objectives this year. Not to forget, the 38-year-old only brought his team their first podium this season.

We shouldn’t be doing that

In the end, Windsor thinks that fans shouldn’t scrutinize Hamilton for just having such a small margin against his teammate. Considering Hamilton has achieved everything in his career, and Russell has to prove himself as the ‘next big thing’, the seven-time world champion doesn’t need to prove anything in a car that is not vying for the wins.

If it had been Mercedes rivaling Red Bull, the case could have been different. But under these situations, Windsor thinks it’s inappropriate to question Hamilton like this.

Meanwhile, Hamilton has constantly reiterated that the current Mercedes car doesn’t suit him. In Miami, he even told the media that he just can’t wait for the Imola upgrades anymore, which are touted to minimize Mercedes’ struggles.

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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