Russell: Hamilton works his arse off

George Russell believes that a large part of Lewis Hamilton's success within Formula 1 comes from the fact that he will "work his arse off" to not only develop himself personally, but to motivate the entire Mercedes team to retain their status as champions.

Hamilton won his fifth world championship last season which put him alongside the tally of Juan Manuel Fangio, and two titles behind the record of seven held by Michael Schumacher.

Russell will perform for WIlliams in 2019, but has a better insight than most as to how Hamilton conducts himself as he acted as reserve driver with Mercedes last season.

He thinks Hamilton's work ethic sets him apart.

"There's a number of different perceptions of how Lewis's commitment is over the course of the year," said the 20-year-old

"He's got a number of different activities he does and he's an extremely talented driver but when he comes to the track he will work his arse off to maximise everything - pushing the team in such an amazing direction, really motivating everybody.

"He's worked really hard at it, so that was kind of refreshing for me, that a guy like him isn't just relying on his talent and it just comes to him, he's out there working for it.

"I think that's something he's probably improved on as he's got older. He can't go out and rely on speed because if the car's not quite working, you need to be able to push the team forward in the right direction.

"I'm convinced that that's what he's been doing over the last few years."

Walking into this factory never gets old ????

Mega to see everyone at Grove pushing flat out ???? @williamsracing pic.twitter.com/JEom6v1SzY — George Russell (@GeorgeRussell63) January 15, 2019

Hamilton has a huge celebrity status outwith the sport now, and Russell thinks his former colleague's conduct on-track and off it shows that a driver needs to juggle many aspects of the career to succeed.

"I'm trying to excel in all areas," Russell continued.

"If you want to become world champion you cannot just rely on your speed on the track, or focus on that.

"There's so much more to F1, you're representing brands and have a number of sponsors who are helping you go racing. You need to provide something back for them so they help us develop the car further.

"It's a whole package and it's something Lewis is doing really well at the moment. What he's doing on-track is just as good as what he's doing off-track, everybody wants to see him and speak to him.

"He gives them a good time."

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