Differences between Russell and Hamilton: 'George wants to be centre stage'
F1 News
- Cas van de Kleut
George Russell is having a good season. Despite his Mercedes not always being very fast, the Briton did beat his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, eight out of nine times. Damon Hill sees that Russell is also getting more attention because of this, the former world champion said on the F1 Nation podcast.
The mutual relationships between Russell and Hamilton are extraordinary. Only two teams, Stake F1 Team and Williams, have a more lopsided relationship when it comes to mutual qualifying duels. Perhaps it has to do with Hamilton leaving for Ferrari after the current season, but it is still remarkable.
Is Russell the new leader at Mercedes?
In Canada, Russell grabbed both pole position and a podium. This was the best result so far. Hill saw that Hamilton was actually disappointed again, despite finishing fourth: "Lewis was expressing disappointment with his performance. He didn't feel like he delivered the best of himself in that particular race. But George did do a fantastic job."
He continued: "George is a little bit buoyed up by the fact that he's probably getting a lot more of the attention, necessarily, because Lewis is off. So he's trying desperately to establish himself as the kingpin in that team. So that they get confidence in him. He has been delivering. I think he's still expressing himself in the car, sometimes with slight desperation, I thought. Some impressive attempts at overtaking, but slightly risky. So those sort of skills are useful when it comes to qualifying. He got himself on pole position. He's driving very well. And giving giving the team some hope."