“The Problem Is George Russell”: Lewis Hamilton’s Ignored Wishes Leave Toto Wolff Mercedes Exposed Against Max Verstappen & Co.

Becoming number one is easier than remaining number 1. Toto Wolff and Mercedes’ call of going against Lewis Hamilton’s desire has left them with a drawback in comparison to Red Bulls. According to a video that has resurfaced again after the Saudi Arabian GP, the problem lies with George Russell.

George Russell finished the Saudi Arabian GP in P4 ahead of his 7 -time-world-champion teammate, who wasn’t able to overtake George even on better tires. The same was the case last year as George finished P4 in the driver’s championship 35 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Lewis hasn’t been able to dominate his teammate, let alone the World Championship.

Some of it is because Mercedes hasn’t been able to develop a competitive car. But the remainder is just purely the fact that George is a fast driver as indicated by the results and is maybe more adaptable to the car. As per Peter Windsor, Hamilton desired to keep Valtteri Bottas as his teammate, but Mercedes signed Russell anyway. Red Bull would never have signed a driver as competitive and fast as George Russell, even if they were available on the driver’s market.

According to a youtube video posted on the CameronF1 channel, Peter Windsor said “The problem is George, of course – it’s not anything more or less than that, And you’ve got to remember Lewis wanted to keep Valtteri. So something big happened there in Lewis’ mind. They didn’t listen to him and they signed George.” further adding “Red Bull would never in a million years have though of signing George Russell, even if he was available, and put him along Max Verstappen. But Mercedes did.

Also Read: Christian Horner Kicks Lewis Hamilton to the Ground to Rub Salt in Toto Wolff’s Miserable Wounds

Mercedes knowingly or unknowingly has signed a driver as quick as Lewis. Hamilton hasn’t lost pace all of a sudden. It’s just that Russell is able to outperform him. Red Bull signed Sergio Perez in 2021 and he hasn’t challenged Max for a title yet, on the contrary, helped him win the titles. However, things have changed around this year, with Checo looking forward to challenging Max for the title.

Can Sergio Perez challenge Verstappen for the title in 2023?

Checo has started the 2023 campaign with the clear motive of winning the title. But wanting to win a title and actually winning it are two very different things. Damon Hill pointed out that Perez neither has the ultimate speed of Max nor his ruthlessness, which are important if one wants to win the championship. Hence, the Mexican’s chances to win the title look bleak.

According to the judge13.com, Damon hill told the F1 Nation podcast, “And I think Max will ultimately prevail. I just don’t think Checo has the ultimate speed and ruthlessness that Max does, and the commitment to being quick.” 

Watch this story: Max Verstappen and Christian Horner slam Mercedes for trying to ‘take shine off’ F1 title win after Lewis Hamilton drama

Do you think Checo will be able to outperform his teammate like Russell did last year?