Formula 1: Damon Hill explains why George Russell is beating Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes: Damon Hill feels that George Russell is doing a great job at Mercedes this year and is outperforming Lewis Hamilton up to this point because Hamilton is developing the car himself. He also claims that the seven-time F1 champion will be back to his best in a competitive car. Hill feels that Mercedes’ set-up on Hamilton’s car has ‘interrupted the flow’ for the Briton. Follow Formula 1 Updates and British Grand Prix Live on InsideSport.IN.
The 1996 F1 champion Damon Hill was full of praise for the young Brit driver George Russell and said, “Russell’s been incredible. He’s been so dependable and consistent. That’s a really good sign. Obviously, his qualifying performances have put Lewis a little in the shade but I think you can put some of that down to Lewis attempting to do things that have interrupted the flow a little bit on the development of the car.”
Formula 1: Damon Hill in full praise of George Russell, explains why Lewis Hamilton is losing to fellow Briton at Mercedes
“Lewis has said something to the effect of ‘maybe we will get George to do all the experimental work in the latter half of the season’, so that’s to his credit he is working on that,” Hill added.
Meanwhile, Russell has beaten Hamilton at each race bar two this season, those exceptions being the initial race of the season in Bahrain and last time in Canada. Russell has likewise finished in the top five at each race this season and is 64 points behind Max Verstappen in the title battle.
Death. Taxes. Seeing this @F1 graphic on a Monday. ❤️ https://t.co/0t8Yk9wums
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) June 20, 2022
Moreover, Hamilton is 98 points behind after an unfortunate start to the 2022 season. Yet, Hill demands the distinction between the drivers isn’t so large as it shows up on the track. Some have scrutinized Hamilton’s motivation for continuing in F1 after his unfortunate beginning to the season as Mercedes is struggling to keep the pace with the leaders Ferrari and Red Bull.
DRIVER STANDINGS@Max33Verstappen is sitting very pretty at the top 📈#CanadianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/56VCwyeGPs
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 19, 2022
Formula 1: Damon Hill in full praise of George Russell, explains why Lewis Hamilton is losing to fellow Briton at Mercedes
Hill admits that Hamilton can appear ‘sad’ but accepts Hamilton is still equipped of putting in performances. When inquired as to whether Hamilton had been impacted by losing the title in a disputable manner last season, the previous Williams driver pronounced that it was ‘difficult to tell’.
“In Spain after a few laps of having a miserable time, he wanted to park the car. The team encouraged him to carry on and he went on to become one of the fastest drivers on the track and caught up with George,” Hill further added.
“He’s an interesting personality Lewis in his mindset as a racing driver, he can sometimes seem very dejected and then he puts in an absolutely amazing performance. I think he’s been very stoic about this year, it just be very hard to swallow what happened last year but he’s come back and he’s got on with his job and he’s helping the team. He’s still as fit and potent as he has ever been and he’s done it with a smile on his face. Give him a whiff of a competitive car, he will be right up the front again,” Hill concluded.
Formula 1: Damon Hill in full praise of George Russell, explains why Lewis Hamilton is losing to fellow Briton at Mercedes
