George Russell Exposed The True Gap Between Ferrari and Mercedes That Triggered Lewis Hamilton’s Switch

Drive to Survive Season 6 is bringing out all the dirt on Mercedes disappointing Lewis Hamilton. The 7-time world champion could not achieve even one victory in the W14 and he decided to leave the team for Ferrari. Although this is touted as a brilliant move for Lewis Hamilton, Carlos Sainz Jr. is not happy to be replaced. But on another note, George Russell has started to see the cracks in Mercedes too.

In the last episode of Drive to Survive, it’s all about Ferrari versus Mercedes. Singapore Grand Prix, Ferrari, is in the lead and that’s where Russell sees the gap between the teams. With Carlos Sainz P1 and Charles Leclerc P2, Ferrari took the win. And Lewis Hamilton took it to his heart.

George Russell’s mindset during the 2023 Singapore GP

While Tifosi’s are celebrating in red all over the world, Mercedes fans were highly disappointed. But not as much as the drivers of the team who are unhappy with the power output of cars. In the last episode of Drive to Survive, snippets of the Singapore GP are shown and in that, an interaction between the Mercedes driver Russell and his engineer was showcased. Russell asks Dudley, “Where’s Lewis?” And the reply from Dudley was, “He’s P11.”

On hearing this Russell began to understand the gap between the cars. In the interview segment, he said, “Ferrari are looking really strong, but you always believe you’re gonna go out there and achieve a big result.” In the end, the drivers ended with unsettling results and so continued Lewis Hamilton’s dissatisfaction with the team. When he saw the kind of lead Ferrari had on him, something must have gone off in Hamilton’s head.

Read More – “Lewis Hamilton Is as Big as F1, if Not Bigger”: Alex Albon

This could have been the season Lewis Hamilton decided to move to Ferrari instead of another strong team on the grid. But when the current dominating team is Red Bull? Why not join them?

Why Lewis Hamilton did not join Red Bull?

There are many factors because of which Lewis Hamilton decided to move to Ferrari instead of the current winning team. And Max Verstappen is one of the biggest reasons. While Max is Lewis Hamilton’s newest rival, he is a force to be reckoned with.

Taking almost every single win in 2023, Max Verstappen is on his way to writing his legacy. Having someone like Lewis Hamilton will split the attention of the Red Bull team on two important drivers with high demands.

Speaking of high demands, currently, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are the two highest-paid F1 drivers. The salary of the two drivers combined makes up for one-third of the total salaries of all F1 drivers combined. Helmut Marko told Motorsport.com, “We cannot afford to have the two most expensive drivers in one team. It’s just never going to happen.”

Read More – The Real Reason Behind Ferrari’s $500 Mn Investment in Lewis Hamilton Revealed: “Billions to the Company”

Taking that into consideration, Hamilton found more value in Ferrari, a team that could pay him the salary he deserved for being the 7-time world champion. That being said, do you think Ferrari will be able to put Hamilton ahead of Verstappen? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.