Ex-F1 champion claims Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton “not putting his best” at Mercedes

Damon Hill reckoned that Lewis Hamilton might not be pushing himself during his final season at Mercedes.

Ex-F1 champion claims Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton “not putting his best” at Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton (Via: Imago)

Damon Hill was recently expressed his sympathy to George Russell on his bad timings to join Mercedes. However, Hill reckoned Lewis Hamilton is not putting his best performance because of the car. As the seven-time world champion joins Ferrari next season.

Damon Hill noted Lewis Hamilton recently made some comments about his performance, where he mentioned the seven time world champion wasn’t satisfied on his performance in Montreal. Hill acknowledged, Hamilton haven’t been performing at his highest level, but his trying to understand the reasons behind that. The 63-year-old expressed this situation as, it’s like when the driver feels they could have done better at something but recognize there might be factors affecting their performance.

Some very interesting comments, I thought, from Lewis saying he wasn’t very happy with his performance over the weekend, so he’s admitting at least that he’s not putting in his best for whatever reason.
Damon Hill said on SkySportsF1 Podcast
YouTube video

Damon Hill further explained how George Russell is able to do this, when the track was resurfaced the 26-year-old quickly moved up to the front of the race. This implies that his eagerness to win may have led to some overly aggressive driving tactics. Hill reckoned, this can only happen when the desire to win become so strong that it influences decision making in track.

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But George can do it. “They’ve only just resurfaced and got to the front of the pack and maybe it was all a bit desperate. It was got a little bit of: ‘I’ve got pole position, I want to win this race more than anything.’
Damon Hill explained

Damon Hill identifies George Russell as Ollie Bearman of ‘his generation’

The Former F1 champion explained how George Russell had a major opportunity when he substituted for Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. Hill suggested that Russell became the standout of his generation, similar to how Oliver Bearman performed in Saudi Arabia when replacing Carlos Sainz. Russell’s debut was outstanding, generating a lot of excitement with everyone praising his impressive performance, much like Bearman’s achievement of securing seventh place in his F1 debut.

A few years ago, George Russell had a breakthrough opportunity when he stepped in for Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. It was like he was the Ollie Bearman of his generation, making a fantastic debut that had everyone amazed by his performance.
Damon Hill stated
George Russell
George Russell (Via: Imago)

The 63-year-old further stated, how introduction of new regulation affected Mercedes car which resulted in George Russell’s poor performance. Since then, The Briton has been challenged to perform in a much difficult car than what he drove at his debut.

Unfortunately for them, Mercedes dropped the ball in effect with the new regulation changes and he’s been having to slug it out in a difficult car.
Damon Hill said

Certainly, Damon Hill reckoned George Russell is not a bad driver his debut was a proof that how good he can handle the car. It was Russell’s bad luck the new regulations appeared and Mercedes couldn’t build a proper car which also resulted in their star driver Lewis Hamilton’s performance. As Russell secured his first podium of 2024, fans would love seeing him more often on that stage and score some points for the team as well.

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