George Russell described the effort it took for him to defeat Lewis Hamilton in his debut season with Mercedes. Russell recalls the feeling of finishing ahead of the seven-time World Champion in the same vehicle, despite the challenges the team had throughout the season.
He claimed that Hamilton forced him to “stretch his limitations as a driver” and that there is no greater comparison. He spoke to the press:
“Lewis has really pushed me to the maximum as a driver, so I feel tremendously lucky to be with a team like Mercedes and colleagues with him.”
George Russell is just the third driver in Lewis Hamilton’s whole career to ever outperform him while a teammate. Before Russell, there was Nico Rosberg driving for Mercedes and Jenson Button driving for McLaren in 2011. (2016). He considers it an honor to have accomplished this.
“Going up against someone like him in the same automobile has taught me a tonne.”
Hamilton struggled in the Mercedes W13, but George Russell, who joined Mercedes this year, appeared to be familiar with it.
George Russell is certain that in the forthcoming season Hamilton will return to “his typical level.”
Lewis Hamilton’s 2022 season ended up being a nightmare as he experienced his worst championship result since making his F1 debut in 2007. This was also the seven-time champion’s first season without a single pole position or victory, which was extremely upsetting.
Russell, meanwhile, had a blast traveling from Williams to Mercedes. However, a lot of people are optimistic about the team’s 2023 vehicle, and Russell agrees with most of the fans that Hamilton will do significantly better.
He remarked: “Each of us has had challenges. Without a doubt, he’ll likely return to his regular level next year.”
George Russell thinks Hamilton appeared to “swing back” after that, even though he had the upper hand in the team throughout the first part of the season. The season, in his opinion, “balanced itself out,” nevertheless.
The team’s chief, Toto Wolff, said they were excited about the upcoming season and that they were happy with the engine they built (because the car’s biggest aerodynamic difficulties were).
Russell just managed to place fifth, trailing both Ferraris and Red Bulls. He was penalised for an unsafe release during his pit stop earlier in the race and was given a five-second time penalty. Hamilton, though, was let down by a mechanical issue in the final few laps, which cost him P4.
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