George Russell and Lewis Hamilton maintained a good relationship during their three years together at Mercedes. That certainly wasn’t guaranteed given the dynamics at the team.
The legendary Briton had been the team’s clear number one since the retirement of Nico Rosberg at the end of 2016. Valtteri Bottas realised he couldn’t beat Hamilton by the time he left.
But Russell has been able to do so – twice. In fact, he immediately outscored the seven-time world champion in his first season.
While Hamilton scored more points than Russell overall, the former Williams driver finished higher in the championship in two of their three seasons. Both have grounds to claim ‘victory’ in that sense.
But there has been little sign of petty competitiveness between the two. They have predominantly cooperated in their efforts to find a solution for Mercedes’ puzzling struggles.
Inevitably, there were occasional flashpoints – Russell was ‘lost for words’ when Hamilton took him out at the start of the 2023 Qatar GP – but Toto Wolff seemingly found things relatively easy to manage. His superstar driver is now headed to Ferrari, with teenager Kimi Antonelli replacing him.
George Russell told Mercedes staff Lewis Hamilton had made him a ‘better driver’
Hamilton couldn’t make an early debut for Ferrari because he still had commitments to carry out for Mercedes. These included a visit to the Petronas Towers in Malaysia (they have long been the title sponsors), a stop at the Brixworth engine facility and a farewell ceremony at their Brackley HQ.
He left the facility for the final time – as a driver at least – accompanied by a spectacular firework display. It appeared a fitting conclusion to his historic tenure with the Silver Arrows.
Hamilton, Wolff and Russell also addressed the team’s congregated employees. And Mercedes have shared snippets of their speeches on their YouTube channel.
In an emotional message, his teammate said it had been an ‘honour’ to partner a true ‘role model’. Russell wore a Hamilton tribute helmet at the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
“For me, these three years have been an honour, being teammates with Lewis,” he said. “Not only pushing me to be a better driver, but he’s such a role model in terms of what a world champion should look like.”
Why George Russell thinks Lewis Hamilton will be better off at Ferrari
While Wolff will once again maintain nominal parity between his two drivers, Russell should really be the de facto number one next year. Antonelli will be the third-youngest debutant in F1 history.
He goes up against a driver with 128 race starts and, crucially, experience of winning Grands Prix. His victory in Las Vegas last month was the third of his career.
Jolyon Palmer says Russell is ‘massively underrated’, but now he has a chance to come out of Hamilton’s shadow. Indeed, much of the focus this year was on the veteran’s struggles rather than the fabulous displays on the other side of the garage.
Russell says Hamilton needs a ‘fresh start’ at new team Ferrari. And as for Mercedes, he expects the arrival of the ‘fully motivated’ Antonelli to be invigorating.
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