As we hit the midway point of the 2023 season, one thing is clear: Mercedes man George Russell is a shadow of his 2022 self. The young Brit was brilliant in 2022, despite the poor state of the W13. For 2023, the wave of expectations from Russell was riding high. However, the tide settled down before reaching the shore as if it was hit by a big rock. Could Lewis Hamilton be that big rock calming the high tides? Not exactly! There is a different reason for Russell’s dip, which is revealed by an F1 expert.

The revelation is an interesting milestone-related tidbit of life in Formula 1. The editor-in-chief at F1 Maximaal Mark Hanselman made this correlation. He revealed how in his fifth year in the circus, even Hamilton had a difficult time and made a lot of mistakes. According to Hanselman, as revealed on F1 Maximaal, the exact same thing is happening to Russell as well. The logic? It’s a pushing-the-limit-by-year-five kind of mentality for most.

“It is clear that Russell is an above-average talented driver, but there is often little evidence of that this season,” commented Hanselman. “The 25-year-old Englishman is in his fifth season, and this may be his weakest season to date. That is not entirely surprising, however, because it happens more often that strong drivers have a chaotic season at this stage of their career.”

He added, “It also happened to teammate Hamilton in 2011, when he was involved in many incidents, also in his fifth season. Hamilton, especially with Felipe Massa, regularly argued. This may be due to the fact that a driver has largely exploited his potential, and is still looking for that extra step, with Russell going too far a number of times.” (Translated via Google)

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Now we are not sure if it’s the rule or just a common feature that appears among a few drivers. Regardless, it does make some sense. However, it will be paramount for Russell to recognize this and settle his nerves if he wants to stamp his authority at Mercedes.

F1 expert advises George Russell to pull up his socks as the balance of power shifts in the direction of Lewis Hamilton

The Brit’s performances in 2022 earned him a lot of support and respect from the F1 community. However, that is all being washed away in 2023. In fact, with his 2022 heroics, Russell was pipped to lead Mercedes toward glory dethroning Hamilton. Now that Russell has taken a few steps back in 2023, Ralf Schumacher is urging the young Brit to raise his level.

Schumacher said, “Hamilton seems to adapt better to the new version of the W14 than Russell. He seemed relieved to feel again the pleasure of flying and the prospects for a more competitive horizon. He is optimistic and has never been so motivated to go for this eighth title. Russell will have to raise his level of play because Lewis is probably better than ever at 38. George will face an interesting challenge, but this emulation can also pull the whole team up.”

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Coming back from the summer break, Russell will need to reassess his first half and come up with a solution for his subpar performances so far. If the Brackley outfit is back in the championship battle, they will need both their drivers in top form.