George Russell will join Mercedes, who will be billed as the future star of F1, but it has been said that partnering with Lewis Hamilton could soon exhaust him. The 23-year-old will be leaving Williams at the end of this season to replace Valtteri Bottas at the reigning Constructors’ Champion and forms a delicious British partnership with seven-time World Champion Hamilton for the 2022 season.
However, David Coulthard has warned Russell who was a competitive teammate to contend with during his three seasons at Williams, where he rode alongside Robert Kubica and current colleague Nicholas Latifi.
Speaking on Channel 4, where he works as an F1 host, Coulthard said the partnership pressure will be enormous – but he also suggested that it could be the making of Russell.
“In the beginning he will just be young and full of energy. He will be fresh and then he will be worn down by the intransigence of Lewis and at that point he will grow as a man.”
Coulthard, 50, did not hesitate when asked if things would “start up” between the two of them.
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“It definitely will,” he replied. “It will be the genesis of George versus the driver of a few generations.
“This is where George Russell witnesses a future world champion. Since he has not been pushed by any of his teammates, it will be very different with Lewis.”
The 36-year-old Hamilton praises the outgoing Bottas, with whom he was a partner for five seasons after the shocking resignation of Nico Rosberg at the end of the 2016 season.
However, his relationship with the German driver became increasingly volatile after joining Mercedes in 2013, and the two frequently clashed as they battled for the 2014, 2015 and 2016 world titles.
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Russell made his mark at last month’s Belgian Grand Prix with a sensational performance in qualifying and secured second place on the grid behind championship leaders Max Verstappen and ahead of Hamilton.
When adverse weather enabled only two safety car-led laps the next day, this meant a first podium for the Norfolk man.
He also replaced Hamilton in a Mercedes for the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix when the F1 veteran with Covid-19 was out. An impressive performance was spoiled by tire problems, but he still managed to finish ninth.
Recently asked at Monza about the prospect of racing alongside Hamilton, he dismissed speculation that their rivalry might turn out to be explosive.
“During my junior career there have been a number of drivers that I have been very close to in terms of pace and very often very close to the track,” said Russell.
“There is no reason why there should be outages or anything like that. I am sure we will be respectful, but at the same time tough, like Lewis and Valtteri have done for the last five years.”
“Lewis and I have a really great relationship. We are at different stages of our careers and we have one goal next year to develop and advance the car and make sure that as two drivers we give ourselves” the best chance at the fastest race car .
“The only way to do this is to work together to develop this.”
The post Lewis Hamilton helped wear down George Russell at Mercedes – “The Making of a Champion” | F1 | Sports first appeared on monter-une-startup.
