Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, always great and potential stars, experienced warriors and fearless youngsters, Mercedes tribe and Mercedes newcomer. Whatever words best describe Hamilton and Russell’s delightful British partnership on next season’s Silver Arrows, intrigue goes hand in hand with fear.
The optics are of course good. Russell started in the Mercedes junior program in 2017 and switched back to a race from Williams in 2020 when he jumped in for Hamilton at the Sakhir Grand Prix.
Only a slow puncture ruined his chance to win, but he would still finish ninth. Amid speculation that he would replace Valtteri Bottas, he qualified second in an essentially unrivaled Williams car in Belgium last summer.
Somewhat weirdly, this place was cemented as a finish the following day, when bad weather meant that only two safety car-led laps were possible, but the weekend was enough for Toto Wolff to soon confirm his conquest for 2022.
At 23, Russell is young, ambitious and brimming with potential that will soon have to be put on the road to success. A signature that suggests a glimpse into the future as well as the present.
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In many ways, the protégé will work with the ideal master.
At 36, Hamilton saw it all, or at least thought he would have made it to the questionable events of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that eventually cost him a record-breaking eighth world title.
Dubbed “Mr Saturday” despite his above average performance in last season’s qualifying, Russell has a lot to learn. Taking a close look at the driving skills of your new team-mate and his mentality could prove fruitful on many fronts.
And yet there is currently an air of unease around British F1 fans. To see this as an exciting move by Mercedes, from which those involved can only benefit, is the more favorable narrative and yet one that betrays the continuing suspicion of many.
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The potential of this partnership to become a dominant force is offset by the likelihood that it will explode with volatility.
Hamilton has just split up with Bottas, 32, after five years that have resulted in five consecutive constructors’ titles. He regards the Finn as his greatest teammate to date, although Bottas’ ambition to fight for an F1 title himself was never realized.
Perhaps that is why the two of them never had a relationship.
Compare that to Hamilton’s previous four-year stint with Nico Rosberg, two of whom were involved in stormy title fights. The bad feeling between the two was evident, and Rosberg’s one-time admission that things were getting “pretty close” between the two was infused with more than good humor.
Russell has already stated that he won’t be going to Mercedes to settle for being number two. Of course he has to do that; a promise to the contrary would be perceived as weak and forgiving.
But Hamilton will be back in 2022, despite reports to the contrary. And he will be eager for this unprecedented title win to free him from Michael Schumacher. And he will insist that nothing gets in his way – not even the new technical regulations that are coming into the sport.
The ticking time bomb is that he doesn’t let a new teammate want to cement his own legacy get in the way.
