Ralf Schumacher thinks Lewis Hamilton is having a much harder time with George Russell than he did with Valtteri Bottas.
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton has been struggling with his W13 and he declared that he is out of the championship fight this year. Meanwhile, his new teammate George Russell has been outperforming Hamilton.
In his debut season, Russell is the only driver in the grid who has been able to finish in the top 5 in the first five races of the season. He has a 23 point lead over the dominator of the sport in the past eight years.
Solid team result after yesterday’s struggles. There’s genuine pace in this car, we just need to find the key to unlock that performance. 👊 pic.twitter.com/XpBfeoum3h
— George Russell (@GeorgeRussell63) May 9, 2022
It seems as though Russell comes out as a threat to Hamilton as a teammate. In recent years, Hamilton had an easy time with Valtteri Bottas, because the former Mercedes driver was never a serious threat.
But now looking at the young Briton’s consistency, Sky Sports expert Ralf Schumacher thinks, “Russell is now a different calibre for Lewis than Bottas was and, above all, he is a constant calibre.”
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Lewis Hamilton is bothered by his new teammate
Russell delivered a good job in Miami as well. He qualified with P12 but fought his way back to the top 5 and finished the race on Sunday with a P5 ahead of Hamilton.
“He’s also someone who picks people up – just like Hamilton. He makes a likeable and very chummy impression on the team,” he adds. “He digs the water out of Lewis a bit in every way. Russell can just handle it better and that bothers Lewis, I’m pretty sure.”
“That’s clear, he’s an egoist, like all of us were as racing drivers, and I was too, I admit that. In any case, I have to say, it will bother him. One hundred per cent!”
Moreover, while Schumacher believes that in Miami Russell got a bit lucky with the safety car deployment, the German says that he was still a little bit better than Hamilton.
“Lewis is still struggling with the car and has often complained – ok, we know that even if he was fast – but he still has his difficulties there. At least it’s going in the right direction,” he concluded.
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