“Lewis Hamilton hasn’t decided to dust off his right foot yet,” Nigel Mansell provides explanation for George Russell’s lead over the seven time world champion
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Nigel Mansell and Lewis Hamilton
It hasn’t been an easy year for Lewis Hamilton. The Briton lost the WDC to Max Verstappen in the last race of the 2021 season, after having led for most of the race, and in a very controversial finale. Rumours of retirement followed but did not materialize, and Lewis Hamilton return from the break to race for Mercedes. But all was not well.
The car wasn’t particularly competitive, so victories were out of the question. But it was even rather worse, as Hamilton seemed to be struggling in comparison to his teammate, the newly-arrived George Russell. A combination of factors were at work for this, but the end result meant that Russell was ahead in the championship standings, a lead he has maintained, currently at 12 points.
It’s not as if Hamilton has not driven well, or as well as George Russell, but Russell has still got the lead, and is currently fourth in the championship, compared to Hamilton’s 6th. According to Nigel Mansell, this is due in part because Lewis Hamilton has taking it rather easy, which has given George Russell the chance to showcase his talents even more.
Nigel Mansell sees a bit of himself in George Russell and Lando Norris
In an interview with Adrian Flux on his YouTube channel, 1992 world champion, Nigel Mansell sat down to discuss various topics, such as his relationship with his competitors, his reactions to other competitors losing their lives, how Williams can get back to success, and also what young drivers he sees himself the most in.
To this question, Mansell responded: “I like both George Russell and Lando Norris.” adding that “I think the opportunity now that George has comes from the fact that Lewis [Hamilton] hasn’t decided to dust off his right foot yet. I think he’s taking it easy.”
But he did clarify that he thinks Russell has been doing great: “But I think that he’s been doing a great job. I think Lando [Norris], considering the car’s performance, has put some great results in. I think what we’re seeing is a ‘jockeying’ for position in the constructors with how competitive one race from another they are.”
“For instance, you think, McLaren are up there again, they’re doing really well, and then next race they’re back down here.” concluding by saying that at the front it is the three teams: Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes. Mercedes are certainly on the bottom of that three-pack, as they have no wins, and are third in the championship.
But all hope is not lost, and P2 in the championship is still very possible. Mercedes are only 30 points behind Ferrari in the standings, and this is very doable to eclipse, especially if Ferrari continue to stumble. Presumably, Mercedes’ performance may improve with the new technical directive going into effect, so the post-summer break period should spell good things for Lewis Hamilton and company.
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)