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BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN – MARCH 10: George Russell of Great Britain and Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes walk in the Paddock during Day One of F1 Testing at Bahrain International Circuit on March 10, 2022 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
via Getty
BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN – MARCH 10: George Russell of Great Britain and Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes walk in the Paddock during Day One of F1 Testing at Bahrain International Circuit on March 10, 2022 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
Lewis Hamilton could be a little salty today. The Britisher missed out on the podium place after the safety car awarded his teammate George Russell a P3 spot. It was a tense race where, besides the Ferrari, almost every teammate was following one another closely. Additionally, it was visible from the beginning that McLaren and Mercedes did not want the drivers to fight each other.
via Getty
BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN – MARCH 10: George Russell of Great Britain and Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes pose for a photo during Day One of F1 Testing at Bahrain International Circuit on March 10, 2022 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Lars Baron – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
Is Lewis Hamilton not happy with P4?
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The race started with Charles Leclerc leading everyone and dominating throughout later on. There were moments where it looked like Hamilton who started P5 can be on the podium too. However, Mercedes pitting strategy did not work for Hamilton, who was soon behind Alpine and his teammate after a struggle to reach the top 3. Since Russell pitted under the safety car, he managed to stay ahead of Perez for quite a while. The Britisher put up a brave fight, despite knowing that his car was no match for the RB-18.
Lewis expressing displeasure with his team's performance is perhaps a little risky. They will be delighted with George's podium. Just sayin #f1
— Damon Hill (@HillF1) April 10, 2022
In all honesty, though, Russell did get lucky, he also produced some wonderful laps. Seeing this, former world champion Damon Hill recently revealed Russell’s win could potentially create tension in the Silver Arrows’ camp.
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We all know that Sir Hamilton is not the one to sit quietly with defeat. Though the driver himself stands on a P4, he is not the one to accept anything less than a podium.
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Will history repeat itself?
The past saw former teammate Valtteri Bottas barely giving Lewis any competition. The Finn let the driver without a fight, following Mercedes’ orders. But that isn’t the case with Russell. He was in a fight of his own as he complained about his battle with Sergio Perez. While he was asked to not hurt the tires on the team radio, the Britisher did not want to let his lead go away so quickly.
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Russell is a former Formula 2 champion and a brilliant qualifier. After spending three years in an uncompetitive car, he has managed to bring in serious points for his new team. Although no one expected him to be a match for Sir Hamilton, the young Brit has given him some tough competition to the 7-time champion till now.
To George’s credit, he was quick to adapt and only in his third race now stands on the podium. Indeed, this Britisher has a promising career ahead of him. Do you see him becoming a world champion at some point?
