George Russell Points Out Why the Hamilton-Rosberg Relationship “Fizzled Out”

Teammate chemistry can often be strange in Formula 1. While we have seen great pairings like Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris at McLaren, we have also seen pairings like Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. George Russell, who has had a healthy relationship with his teammates so far, believes that the Hamilton-Rosberg dynamic went sour because of the competitiveness between them.

The Williams driver himself puts up quite a fight against his teammates. Part of the upcoming generation of drivers in F1, he has consistently outperformed two teammates in the two seasons since he joined Williams.

George Russell: Didn’t have any reason for intense fall outs

Rising through the ranks with drivers like Lando Norris, Russell believes there was never a reason for their relationships to go sour. Appearing on the In the Fast Lane podcast, he talked about his battle with Norris to explain the relationship he has with his competitors.

Speaking to Matt Clayton, he said, “We’ve come through the ranks together. I think, naturally, our relationship is still relatively good because there’s been no reason to have intense falling outs.

“Lando and I battled in Formula 2. But, we didn’t have any true battles, if you know what I mean. We didn’t go wheel-to-wheel and crash into each other, and we had no reason to hate each other.”

Hamilton and Rosberg’s story was different: Russell

The 23-year-old thinks that the Hamilton–Rosberg battle in 2016 strained their relationship beyond repair. The two drivers started out as best of friends from their go-karting days. However, certain races in the 2016 season forced their friendship to deteriorate.

Russell said, “Maybe the same with Lewis and Rosberg. They were good friends back in the day. With those teammates, everything was hunky-dory.

“And suddenly, few comings together and taking the championship down to the wire, and that relationship soon fizzles out.”

Should Russell move to Mercedes in the future, he could fight for race wins and championships. Could a similar situation happen to the Briton in the future, despite his friendships with other drivers?