We're in very different stages of our careers: George Russell on Lewis Hamilton

Russell has joined the 2021 Constructors' Champions to replace Valtteri Bottas, who has moved to Alfa Romeo for the 2022 season.

George Russell in a file photo. (Image Credit: Twitter/@GeorgeRussell63)
By Nilavro Ghosh | Jan 6, 2022 | 2 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

New Mercedes driver George Russell has stressed the importance of working together with new teammate Lewis Hamilton over competing on the track. Russell has joined the Constructors’ Champions to replace Valtteri Bottas, who has moved to Alfa Romeo for the 2022 season. Last year, the 23-year-old scored his first points for Williams at the Hungarian Grand Prix, followed by his first F1 podium at the weird Belgian Grand Prix a few weeks later. He filled in for Hamilton at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix after the serial world champion was ruled out owing to a COVID-19 positive test.

Russell was quickly on the pace and appeared to have the upper hand over Bottas, but a pit stop blunder and a late slow puncture cost him the race in Bahrain. Many people have speculated about how he will get along with seven-time world champion Hamilton, with 1996 World Champion Damon Hill recently telling Russell not to try to ‘knock spots’ off his teammate. Russell is aware of this, and understands that he and Hamilton are on different career paths right now.

‘Different stages’

“I think there’s a lot of respect between Lewis and I. I think we’re in very different stages of our career,” Russell said on the F1 Nation podcast. “Lewis is the guy he is for a reason – he’s the greatest of all time. I think we go in there [and] we need to help each other because, [in 2022], the cars are just going to be developing so much, race after race.”

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“It’s not who has the quickest car at race one, it’s who has the quickest car throughout the whole season. And, as drivers, we need to work together with the team to move us forward as one, and that’s going to be the key.”

Russell thanked Mercedes for all of their efforts in developing him during his fledgling career when he arrived at the German brand.

“They gave me my first opportunity in Formula 1, which I will be forever grateful for. But I think, above all, [they] helped mould me into a better all-round driver, helped me learn the technical side of the sport much more and just develop my skills globally to become a greater driver,” he said in a separate interview.