Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality. Lewis Hamilton has been vocal in criticizing Mercedes Zeropod design as George Russell gets better at adapting to the W14. Now that Russell has found his feet at Mercedes, the seven-time world champion’s 16-year-old record comes under threat Hamilton is put in a position to fight for his record. Will the 38-year-old be able to fend off the attack from “aggressive” Russell?

George Russell joined Mercedes back in 2021 after wonderful performances with Williams and outperforming his car’s potential every weekend. Despite Lewis Hamilton asking Mercedes to keep Valtteri Bottas as his teammate, the Silver Arrows went ahead and signed Russell. Ever since arriving at the German team, Russell has outperformed Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton had a shaky 2022 after the robbery of the 2021 title and finished P6 in the standings 35 points behind George Russell. 

The start of 2023 hasn’t been great for the seven-time world champion either as he was out-qualified by the 25-year-old in both races. Russell finished ahead of Hamilton at the Saudi Arabian GP despite being on the slower tire after the safety car restart. Emerson Fittipaldi believes Russell is more aggressive than he ever was. He has settled down well with Mercedes and seems to be becoming a better fit putting Hamilton’s position as the No.1 driver at risk.

According to Express.co.uk, Emerson Fittipaldi said “ For sure, Russell is more aggressive now,” “He is more experienced now and the Mercedes team knows him much better now. It seems like he is becoming a better fit for the team now” further adding “This is his best chance to get ahead of Lewis Hamilton and show that he has the level. It is going to be very interesting to see what happens. His situation is quite similar to Sergio Perez in my opinion. He will be driving 110 percent now and be aggressive to go past people.”

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Hamilton is a seven-time world champion and surely knows a thing or two about beating teammates. The 38-year-old will not be bullied by George Russell. But is it possible for Hamilton to beat the in-form Russell?

Can Lewis Hamilton come back out on top?

Whenever Lewis Hamilton falls, he always comes back with a bigger bang. If there’s anyone who can beat Russell, it’s the seven-time world champion. Damon Hill believes Hamilton fights back whenever he falls. No one can count Hamilton out. He always rebuilds himself and gets back stronger than ever. 

According to Crash.net, Damon Hill said “This is what Lewis does,” “He gets down but he fights back. That’s what I see in him. Further adding “You can never count him out. He will go away and rebuild himself. As he gets the car that he wants, he will be formidable again.”

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Can Lewis fight back and beat Russell this season?