Ex-F1 team boss reveals reason behind George Russell defeating Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes
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Lewis Hamilton and George Russell (images via IMAGO)
George Russell was promoted to Mercedes in 2022 to partner Lewis Hamilton. The 26-year-old exceeded expectations against his world-champion teammate in the past two seasons. Now, former F1 team boss Eddie Jordan has pinpointed the reason for Russell outperforming Hamilton.
Mercedes had a difficult start to the ground-effect era in 2022. Lewis Hamilton never really got comfortable with the new cars. This was more evident than ever last season when the seven-time world champion considered quitting the campaign entirely. On the other hand, George Russell looked much calmer than the 40-year-old.
Eddie Jordan insisted that Russell managed to grab the Mercedes car by the horns to extract a lot more compared to Hamilton. Jordan cited that the 40-year-old had been racing for around 35 years now. As such, Lewis Hamilton was not willing to drive something which was not suited to his style.
At the end of the day, George Russell grabbed that car by the horns and he made it do different things to what Lewis was. Lewis has been driving since he was five, seven or eight years of age, so he’s not going to drive something that is not up to his liking.
Eddie Jordan said on Formula For Success podcast
George Russell ‘demolished’ Lewis Hamilton in Qualifying
The seven-time world champion had grown frustrated over his lack of one-lap pace over the course of 2024. This was evident on-track as Hamilton could only outqualify Russell on 5 occasions compared to 19 by the 26-year-old. Eddie Jordan asserted that George Russell had simply demolished the 40-year-old when it came to runs on Saturdays, and sometimes even on racedays.
Having said that, George absolutely demolished him (Hamilton) in qualifying and to some extent in the races as well. So well done George Russell.
Eddie Jordan added
Certainly, George Russell will have got a major confidence boost last year. Now, its time for the British driver to take things to the next level and lead Mercedes from the front. As Russell is now partnered by 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli for the upcoming season.
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Armaan Agarwal
(2394 Articles Published)