“Can’t Sit There and Sulk”: Whiny Lewis Hamilton Given a Bitter Reality Check By Optimistic George Russell on Mercedes’ Struggles

The new season’s advent did not change much for Mercedes and its on-track performance. Last year, they finished 3rd in the constructors’ championship and currently hold that position in the table. George Russell, as opposed to his teammate Lewis Hamilton, is not too bothered, though. The junior Briton driver recently highlighted the need for drivers to stop sulking about the car and start delivering results to the best of their ability.

Before the P2 finish in Melbourne earlier this month, Hamilton led the charge against his own team. While earlier he accused them of not paying enough attention to his feedback on the car, he later complained about not being used to driving “not great cars”. Russell’s comments are in stark contrast to what the 7-time champion feels.

George Russell aims to deliver on his part of the deal with Mercedes

Russell made the switch to Mercedes from Williams in search of race wins. Used to driving arguably mediocre cars before, he expected to get championship-worthy cars with the Silver Arrows. To his surprise, what team put together, the W13 could win only one race throughout the season. While the poor run has continued this year, George refuses to complain.

Recently speaking on The Fast And The Curious podcast, he said, “I think it’s been a positive start to the season in the sense of, I feel like, we couldn’t have got more out of our car in terms of performance.”

“Of course, you want to be winning and are not going to be truly a hundred percent happy until we’re standing on the top step of that podium as often as possible,” he added. “But you can’t sit there and sulk about the car being not as quick as you want. You just got to get on with it. And as a driver, your job is to drive that thing, no matter how quick it is. You’ve got to drive it as fast as you can.”

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Russell is yet to find a podium finish for himself in the current season. He came the closest in Jeddah when he finished P4 behind Fernando Alonso.

Russell does not regret switching to Mercedes from Williams

A move from a team like Williams to Mercedes would always be seen as a promotion. However, since Russell’s switch, the Brackley-based outfit has gone into a slump. That is majorly due to the introduction of ground-effect regulations by the FIA. Does winning only one race since his big move bother the Briton? Not at all.

Express UK recently quoted George as saying, “In those three years at Williams, I might have been able to compete a little further in front, but if I hadn’t driven a Mercedes, I wouldn’t have fought for the world title anyway. So what’s the difference?”

“Ultimately I want to win titles and whether I’m fighting at the back of the field or for position seven, there’s no difference for me. All in all, I’m happy with how I stand now.”

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The action will resume in Azerbaijan next weekend. Do you think we could witness a shakeup in the standings as teams prepare to field their first bout of changes to the cars?