Mercedes ‘Inter-Team Battle’ to Feast on in Second F1 Stint as Lewis Hamilton Staggers 12 Points Behind George Russell

After years of dominance in F1, Lewis Hamilton came face to face with his kryptonite in the 2021 season. The reigning World Champion Max Verstappen, with its hunger for success, ended years of dominion to mark the new era coming through. Thus, providing the fans with a match for the driver with seven-world titles and exposing his Achilles heel.

As the knighted Brit returned to claim his throne, he faced a challenge from a driver hungry for glory, yet again, in his own backyard. The Mercedes signed the Williams ace, George Russell, on a multi-year deal. However, it was nothing short of a challenge for Hamilton, who would never back down from a fight or let anyone else steal his limelight.

After spending years sharing the garage with Nicholas Latifi, Russell found himself next to the arguable GOAT of F1. However, the two Englishman joined forces in an entirely different spectrum of their careers. In the sport’s history books, the young Brit has zero wins in the front of his name, while the veteran Brit holds the world record for 103 career wins.

Henceforth, putting different objectives in front of their eyes as Russell kicked off the season, aiming to fight at the front of the grid, after years of fighting as a backmarker. While Hamilton eyed an eighth world title in his trophy cabinet.

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Nevertheless, the shortcomings of the W13 stopped this British face-off on the tracks. The two Mercedes drivers put the team goals over their personal goals, as they worked week in and week out to take the Brackley outfit back to winning ways.

Is the best of Lewis Hamilton vs George Russell yet to come?

Following multiple Grand Prix spent bouncing in the car’s cockpit, the title standing’s show a different picture for the recruits of the German team. With 13 races completed in the season, Russell in P4 leads Hamilton in P6 by an advantage of 12 points.

Although the 24-year-old driver holds the advantage over the 37-year-old, the recent run of form suggests an exciting chapter yet to unfold for the rest of the season. In the last 5 races, Hamilton has picked up consecutive podium finishes to take his 2022 podium tally to 6, while Russell has 5 podiums to his name.

F1 pundit, Karun Chandhok wrote for Sky Sports about what to expect from the Silver Arrows pairing in the second half of the season.

He commented, “It’s been a strangely quiet start to the season for Lewis.”

“He was clearly not at all happy with the car in the opening few races and suffered more than George Russell, but once we got to Barcelona and the team started to unlock some speed, Lewis has taken things up a notch as well.”

“The qualifying score may be equal, but Lewis has beaten George in the last five races in a row.”

Chandhok concluded, “He may be 12 points behind George in the points table at the moment, but those dreadful weekends in Saudi Arabia and Imola seem a long time ago. This inter-team battle will be fun to watch!”

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Who do you think will emerge victorious in the British skirmish, Lewis Hamilton or George Russell? Let us know.