F1 pundit reminds George Russell of the Mercedes hierarchy after his firey tussle with Lewis Hamilton in Suzuka

George Russell has proved second best at Mercedes during the 2023 F1 season.

F1 pundit reminds George Russell of the Mercedes hierarchy after his firey tussle with Lewis Hamilton in Suzuka

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell (Via IMAGO)

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell amassed quite a decent number of headlines during the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix. The duo tussled with each other several times during the race. At moments, it got quite heated. A lot has already been said about it in the media, and ahead of next month’s Qatar event, F1 analyst, Anthony Davidson has reminded Russell of the hierarchy structure at Mercedes.

Lewis Hamilton has been on the Mercedes F1 team for a long time and has an immense pull on the decisions made around the team. He and Toto Wolff are the main pillars of the Brackley-based team, and Anthony Davidson feels George Russell needs to sometimes keep a check over things he does during a Grand Prix weekend.

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While shedding light on the same, Davidson told Sky Sports, “There’s definitely a hierarchy in that team. And rightly so. You know, Lewis has earned that status in that team as a seven-time world champion, and George can’t argue against that. George is still the understudy, and he’s doing a very good job on those occasions where he’s got the speed over Lewis to really take the fight to him.”

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He added, “He’s a good boy on the radio; he’s very British about it. And there are layers to him, to the annoyance, I think. It always comes over as, ‘I’m okay with this, but if you could please, very thankfully, let me through with the next couple of opportunities, it’d be much appreciated. And we’d hear maybe a bit more vocal if things were different. But I think for now, I think he knows where he is in the team.“

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Lewis Hamilton has had George Russell’s number in 2023

George Russell surprised people up and down the paddock in 2022 by finishing ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the driver’s standings during his rookie season with Mercedes. However, since the start of this year’s campaign, the latter has had the edge over Russell. The 7-time world champion has gotten to grips with the W14 better.

Lewis Hamilton (Credits: Imago)
Lewis Hamilton (Credits: Imago)

As things stand, Lewis Hamilton has so far managed an impressive 190 points in the season and has also amassed five podium finishes. Whereas, Russell on the other hand, he has only 115 points and has scored just one podium finish. However, despite this fact, Toto Wolff and Co. have their full faith in the abilities of the young Brit.

Just like Lewis Hamilton, George Russell also recently signed a contract extension with Mercedes, and the duo will be seen together for at least a couple more years. The German team has struggled under the new F1 regulations, but there is a genuine belief in the F1 paddock that they could produce a championship-worthy car for the 2024 season.

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