Russell and Hamilton will make an exciting, all-British couple at Mercedes in 2022 – but the latter has historically had strained relationships with teammates who compete with him on the track
Video is loading
Video not available
The video will soon start playing automatically8thInterrupt
Play Now
Mercedes boss hopes that the “robbed” Lewis Hamilton will continue to drive
George Russell has been warned about going into his first season with a burning Mercedes to dwarf Lewis Hamilton.
The young Brit joins the team after three impressive years at Williams, where he has done more than his part in raising the team to a position where they have consistently scored points throughout the 2021 season.
Russell scored 16 points himself, a significantly improved record compared to the three he earned in 2020.
The highlight was Spa, where his incredible performance in qualifying brought him a second place on the grid, which he earned after the race was stopped after only two laps behind a safety car due to the treacherous weather conditions.
He’ll look to expand that first F1 podium with more of them in 2022, having been selected by Mercedes to replace Valtteri Bottas when the team looks to the future.
George Russell took part in tests with Mercedes last week and will be a permanent part of the team from next season
(
Image:
Getty Images)
Red Bull has Max Verstappen, Ferrari can fall back on Charles Leclerc and McLaren has bloodied Lando Norris – now the Silver Arrows have tied their own prodigy for years to come.
Russell himself has insisted that he will be respectful and that the team’s utility comes before his own ambitions, but he has barely tried to hide his desire to win races and world titles.
That has sparked speculation that he could end up on a chilly relationship with new teammate Hamilton, who has rarely gotten along with title-defying teammates in the past.
Nicholas Latifi pops death threats after the F1 crash that helped Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton David Coulthard’s X-rated message to Max Verstappen after the controversial F1 title win
Hamilton has consistently referred to Bottas as the best team-mate he has had at Mercedes, but much of that is likely due to the Finn never being able to tackle a serious title challenge in his five years with the team.
Between him and Nico Rosberg, who won him the title in 2016 before retiring from the sport a few days later, things were at times less friendly.
And little love was lost between Hamilton and Fernando Alonso after the Brit came to McLaren as a rookie in 2007 and annoyed the reigning world champion by competing with him from head to toe in a title fight, both ultimately lost to Kimi Raikkonen.
George Russell will become Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes for the 2022 F1 season
(
Image:
XPB pictures / PA pictures)
To avoid another bad relationship between the drivers at Mercedes, Jenson Button – another former Hamilton teammate – has advised Russell not to go into his first year with the team to give everything to beat the seven-time world champion.
“He mustn’t put himself under pressure,” Button told Sky Sports F1. “He can’t think, ‘I’ll get in the car and be faster than Lewis on the first day.’
“He has to build on that or he’ll shoot himself in the leg. You can’t be so confident with Lewis.”
Continue reading
Lewis Hamilton warned that he may have missed his chance to surpass Michael Schumacher
Continue reading
Lewis Hamilton is punished for rejecting the Max Verstappen trophy gala
