Credits: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

Lewis Hamilton, F1’s most successful driver of all time, has not won a race since 2021. Additionally, his teammate George Russell seems to be getting the better of him on a more regular basis as of late, which former world champion Mario Andretti believes is down to Mercedes’ problems.

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Hamilton is used to driving a championship-winning car. Between 2014 and 2021, he dominated the world of F1, but the new regulation changes of 2022 turned the Silver Arrows into a midfield outfit. Russell, on the other hand, joined Mercedes in 2022 from Williams- a team that was a perennial backmarker in the young Briton’s time there. For Russell, it was a step up, contrary to Hamilton, who was struggling to drive a car that was competing just for points.

As reported by Racing News 365, Andretti feels that Russell is a challenge to Hamilton because of the latter’s Williams stint. He is driving a more competitive car at Mercedes, allowing him to express himself more freely. As for Hamilton, Mercedes’ downfall has been more of a reality check.

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Andretti said,

“When he joined Mercedes, he thought he had ended up in paradise. Now he sees that he has to fight again and again. However, he is used to that and that is why he now stands in front of Lewis Hamilton seemed to be extraordinary, but we see that he is only human.” 

Andretti’s claims are backed up by the fact that Hamilton faced more difficulties with the car in 2022, when porpoising issues plagued the grid. Fast forward to 2024, Russell seems to be more comfortable with the car than Hamilton is, which has been the case in all three rounds so far.

George Russell shares different experience to Lewis Hamilton’s

After being outperformed by Lewis Hamilton in 2023, George Russell has turned the tables completely this season. Similar to the first two rounds, Russell had a good qualifying performance at the Australian GP, finishing seventh. Hamilton, on the other hand, couldn’t make it to Q2, and started the race from P11.

Following the qualifying session in Melbourne, when Naomi Schiff questioned Russell why his experience was different to Hamilton’s, the former said,

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“I’m just focused on myself and my team and trying to maximise it. I can’t really comment on Lewis’ feelings. Ultimately, we are not quite where we want to be.” 

Russell added by insisting that without problems to their power-unit in Bahrain, he could have competed for the podium. According to him, Jeddah’s results too, were not a clear reflection of their true pace since he felt he could have done better than P7.

Russell concluded by saying that he feels more “confident” and “consistent” with the W-15, something Hamilton evidently doesn’t. So far, the young Briton is 10 points ahead of Hamilton in the standings, although it is still early days in the season.