George Russell breaks down why Toto Wolff has ‘more respect’ for Lewis Hamilton than him

George Russell has had some tough races in 2023 compared to Lewis Hamilton.

George Russell breaks down why Toto Wolff has ‘more respect’ for Lewis Hamilton than him

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell (Via IMAGO)

George Russell left Willaims in 2022 to replace Valtteri Bottas at Mercedes. He joined the seventh-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and his champion team principal Toto Wolff. The Austrian has been working with Hamilton since 2012 and hence, according to Russell, has more respect for the 103 Grand Prix winner than for him.

In the recent episode of Beyond the Grid podcast hosted by Tom Clarkson, Russell was asked about the dynamic of his relationship with Wolff since joining the team. Being unsure, he compared him and his veteran teammate Hamilton’s first days with the team. He says Hamilton got more respect from the boss because Hamilton was already a champion when they met, while in his case, he was one of the teenage promising talents signed by Mercedes.

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“When Lewis and Toto were acquainted, Lewis was already World Champion. There was perhaps more respect from Toto to Lewis when he joined because Toto was completely new to Formula 1…At the time, Toto was the rookie and Lewis was the household, massive name, whereas, with myself, Toto signed me as a 16-year-old,” Russell said, as reported by Racingnews.360.

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George Russell says he and Toto Wolff can be classed as friends now

Russell explained how Wolff targeted him when he first joined the side and pointed out that Wolff gave him all the advice he needed to reach his full potential. He added that they now have a friendship kind of relationship.

George Russell (Via IMAGO)
George Russell (Via IMAGO)

He said, “They’ve always nurtured me along the way. Advised me and helped me reach my full potential, and our relationship has gone from – I am not going to say a paternal figure – but I would class ourselves more as friends now.”

Russell also pointed out that his girlfriend Carmen Mundit and Wolff’s wife Susie Wolff also have a good relationship. He said, “Also with Susie and Carmen, my girlfriend, we have a really great relationship; we spend a lot of time together doing activities together, dinner together, we see them all the time.”

While Russell was able to outperform Hamilton, who was coming back from a heart-breaking title loss to Max Verstappen in 2022, this year, it has been the opposite. The veteran has consistently outperformed his young teammate in all but the qualifying sessions of the race weeks.

Hamilton is in a close fight with Sergio Perez for the championship P2 while Russell is playing hard to ensure Mercedes remains the second-best team on the grid at the end of the season over Ferrari, who is the only non-Red Bull side to win a race in 2023.

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