It was a really good season for Mr. Consistency in his new Mercedes team. Not only did he win his first-ever F1 race, but he also joined an elite list of drivers that have beaten Lewis Hamilton on the same team. Russell finished the season in P4 in the WDC despite Mercedes rolling out an underwhelming car for 2022.
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Much of the credit for Russell’s success goes to his teammate as well. Hamilton conducted tests on his car for the team to get data on the issues of their W13 car so that Russell didn’t have to compromise. Furthermore, the 103-race winner was also on the podium when Russell won and secured Mercedes their only 1-2 this season.
The former Williams driver opened up about his first year with Lewis and what he learned from the 7-time champion. Russell said, “Lewis is an incredibly unique character. I think he is incredibly inspiring with all of his activities and projects he has off-circuits.”
He further compared him to Tennis titans Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic (Big 3 of Tennis) and said, “These are 3 greats of the sport. Statistically, they’ve all basically achieved exactly the same achievements. Yet they have 3 totally different ways of playing.”
He concludes by saying, “The thing I take away from that (Big 3) and Lewis is that there is no one path to success. You need to find your own path, your own journey. You need to have that self-belief.“
Hamilton and Russell will hope for the Silver Arrows to fight back and challenge Red Bull and Max Verstappen for the title next season.
Former F1 champion heaps praise on the Mercedes pair George Russell and Lewis Hamilton
Despite not having the best of seasons, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have displayed immaculate team spirit. The duo has constantly sacrificed for each other and the results slowly started showing for the Silver Arrows. What felt like a long season at the start ended with a sigh of relief and hope for next year.
Moreover, Jenson Button believes that Mercedes have a great driver pairing to lead them back to the top. The former F1 champion explains what makes the duo click together so well.
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Button, who was one of the 3 drivers to beat Lewis in the same team, believes Mercedes have a great pairing in Russell and Hamilton. “It is a really good driver pairing,” said the 2009 F1 champion.
He further commented, “They’re both very respectful and that’s the first thing you need to be respectful and to be telling the truth in terms of set-up and what have you, be open with your opinions. That’s the only way they’re going to work together and build as a team.”
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Red Bull snatched the WCC throne from Mercedes this year. The Silver Arrows eventually finished P3 in the table and will look to stage a comeback again next season. Can Lewis Hamilton and George Russell bring back the glory days to the Brackley-based team?