“We still have unfinished business”, said Lewis Hamilton after extending his Mercedes contract. The Briton was down after the 2021 championship defeat and hoped for a strong 2022 comeback. Alas, the 2022 Mercedes was nothing short of a disaster. And adding to the misery was George Russell. Nonetheless, 2023 was a successful year for the Briton, who seems to be back to his best. However, he’s now warned of George Russell’s power as Mercedes completely changes their 2024 competitor. 

George Russell moved to Mercedes for the 2022 season. While everyone knew what Russell was capable of, nobody expected him to beat Lewis Hamilton. However, he did exactly that and left the community in shock. Was Lewis Hamilton finished after the 2021 defeat? No. Hamilton bounced back stronger than ever and finished in the Top 3 in 2023, comfortably beating Russell. But this isn’t the time for the 7X champ to get comfortable.

With the aim of catching the Red Bull, an evolution of the W14 wouldn’t have been enough for the Silver Arrows. Hence, as the recent comments of the Mercedes members suggest, Lewis Hamilton and Co. are on a high-risk, high-reward path. Toto Wolff had said, “I mean, literally, there’s almost every component that’s being changed because only by doing that, I think we have a chance.” The W15 will be built from scratch. Everything will be new, i.e. a new platform for the drivers. While Lewis Hamilton complained a lot about the seating position of the W14, Russell seemed to be the one who wasn’t able to extract the maximum out of the car. 

A new platform would provide a level playing field for Russell and Hamilton. According to Express.co.uk, Johnny Herbert warned Hamilton of Russell’s threat as he said, “George has done very well against Lewis, but you have seen a slight shift. It was all about George at the beginning of the season, now Lewis seems to be getting a better job done. But George isn’t a thousand miles away, that’s the difference with him.”

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And it isn’t only Johnny Herbert who believes that Russell can take the fight to Hamilton. Former F1 Boss Peter Windsor believes in the young Brit as well. 

“Quicker than Lewis”: Peter Windsor hails George Russell to pip Hamilton

It was clear that Mercedes’ inability to fight for the title and the 2021 disappointment took a toll on Lewis Hamilton’s 2022 season. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that Russell beat Hamilton fair and square. Russell’s pace was evident since the Williams days and many believe that he was brought in to take over Hamilton’s throne once the champ retires from the sport. Peter Windsor even spoke about Russell being faster than Hamilton over one lap pace. 

In Cameron F1’s YouTube Video, Peter Windsor said, “I think George is a very clear-cut, basic, unbelievably competitive racing driver. What we’re seeing from George is absolutely nothing new. He was like that Williams. Nobody should be surprised that George is asserting himself. I’m a Lewis fan! I’ve loved watching Lewis drive and I totally respect everything he’s ever done but I think right now, you probably have to say, over one lap at most circuits, George is probably a fraction quicker than Lewis. And that’s the problem!”

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